Officials Study Firefighters’ Medical Problems

The Los Angeles County Fire Department is investigating whether a fire four months ago at a Santa Clarita compost plant caused serious medical problems for the firefighters who battled the massive, two-week-long blaze.

Of the 173 firefighters tested so far, 14 had higher-than-normal levels of arsenic in their blood, another 19 suffered some form of liver damage and one person had both conditions, fire officials said. In addition, about 10 state Fish and Game officials who responded to the blaze have also undergone testing.

Fire officials stressed that they have made no link between the results of the tests and the fire at Santa Clarita Greenwaste Inc. that began Aug. 28. All the firefighters tested by the department are still working. Two firefighters who were examined by private doctors took leave as a result of injuries suffered in the blaze. Department officials declined to release details.

One private citizen has complained of health problems as a result of the incident, but the complaint has not been verified, fire officials said.

“The department is very concerned about the health of its firefighters,” said Capt. Steve Valenzuela, spokesman for the department. “We’re doing everything necessary to determine whether this incident has any correlation with the health of the firefighters.”

A team of about 30 local and state health and environmental officials met Monday to begin analyzing results of the tests on the firefighters, some of whom have complained of headaches and flu-like symptoms. Supervisor Mike Antonovich has demanded a full investigation into the incident and a report by Dec. 31.

Firefighters first responded to the blaze Aug. 28 and again on Sept. 8 to extinguish the stubborn fire, which burned in a huge mound of grass cuttings and tree trimmings nearly four acres in size and 90 feet deep.

About 200 firefighters from battalions throughout the county battled the fire during the two-week operation, fire officials said, pouring millions of gallons of water on the blaze. A few of the firefighters complained of symptoms immediately after the fire, leading the department to offer voluntary medical evaluations to all who participated.

Shirley Fannin, disease control director for the county, said health officials are just beginning to look into the results of the testing. The fire department has also sent the results of the examinations to a UC Irvine toxicologist for independent review.

Fannin cautioned that she has yet to review the reports in detail. However, she said the higher-than-normal arsenic levels are not necessarily cause for alarm. Smoking, for instance, can cause such results. The same applies for the liver damage, which could be a temporary condition that heals itself.

“We have to see the data,” Fannin said.

Fire officials said they too have not yet finished their investigation into the fire and its cause. Division Chief Gene Wolfe said his inquiry has found that building materials were stored at the plant, in addition to the grass cuttings and other yard waste that caught fire.

He said it was too early to determine whether the building materials contained toxic substances that may have injured the firefighters.

“The fire itself wasn’t exactly what we thought it was,” Wolfe said.

But Mike Lipis, the general manager of the plant, insisted that there was nothing at the facility that would have harmed the firefighters. The plant takes yard cuttings from landscapers and private citizens and processes it into material for resale as wood fuel or compost.

Lipis said that he is being unfairly singled out and pointed to numerous inspections of the facility prior to the fire, revealing no code violations.

“I’m sorry if some firemen did ingest some things, but we have a clean bill of health,” Lipis said. “We’ve got a perfect record with all the agencies. How did we end up going from good guys to bad guys?”

Since the blaze, the South Coast Air Quality Management District has twice cited the company, once for the smoke that came from the fire and a second time in December for odor that continues to emanate from the plant as a result of decomposing materials.

In addition, officials with the state’s Fish and Game department are investigating because some of the water from the blaze entered a dry creek and began running toward the Santa Clara River before being blocked.

Warden Marty Wall said water from the blaze appears toxic enough to kill fish, had it entered the river. However, he said the investigation is hampered by numerous complexities.

Among other things, Wall noted that the site of the plant has a history as a dumping ground and oil refinery. If the investigation does find dangerous levels of toxins, it may be difficult to prove that the compost plant is the source of the pollution.

“The issues are so clouded,” Wall said. “We’ve got a lot of questions.”