A fire in a chemical plant in Saticoy, California destroyed the plant and two adjoining occupancies and caused the community's 1,500 residents to be evacuated for 10 hours on April 10, 1989. Two firefighters were treated for exposure to toxic products, and 14 others were evaluated at a hospital for potential exposure. Clean-up and decontamination after the fire are expected to cost more than $200,000, and involve removal of the entire contents of the plant and recovery of runoff and contaminated soil in the surrounding area.
The plant, which prepared chemical ingredients for pharmaceutical companies, had been the subject of legal actions resulting from efforts to enforce fire, building, and environmental health regulations. A fire inspector and a building safety inspector had been injured in an incident at the plant several months earlier when they were exposed to toxic products while conducting an inspection. After code enforcement actions had been initiated, the business and property owners had notified the Fire Department that its personnel would not be admitted without a warrant.
The Ventura County Fire Department took an extremely cautious approach to the incident, based on prior knowledge of the hazards inside the building. A policy directive had been issued to stay out of the building in the event of a fire, because of the known nature of the products involved.
The incident presents a strong case for requiring reporting of hazards for chemical occupancies. It also demonstrates the difficulties that are often encountered in attempting to enforce hazardous materials code requirements. The injuries sustained by personnel operating at the scene were minor, particularly in view of the hazards that were encountered.
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