Cosmetics Firm Employee Badly Burned in Flash Fire
A 35-year-old Tarzana man suffered second- and third-degree burns on 98% of his body Monday during a flash fire at a cosmetics company, authorities said.
Robert Anderson, an employee of Sher-Mar Cosmetics, was pouring the solvent toluene from one 55-gallon barrel to another, using a 1-gallon container just before 3 p.m. when the fire erupted, witnesses told investigators.
“Something sparked a flash fire so severe that it burned the clothes off his body,” said Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman. Humphrey said Monday night the victim was in “very critical” condition.
Fire sprinklers quickly extinguished the blaze, and no major damage was reported in the building at 8755 Remmet Ave. Anderson was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, then transferred to the Grossman Burn Center at Sherman Oaks Hospital.
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