A three-alarm fire ripped through a pair of commercial buildings in Maywood Tuesday, sparking a series of strong explosions, knocking out power and forcing the evacuation of about 300 residents and nearby workers while sending a thick plume of noxious smoke over the region.
A Maywood city employee and a sheriff’s deputy suffered smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze in the 3700 block of Fruitland Avenue just a few miles east of the Long Beach (710) Freeway.
The fire was reported about 2:30 a.m. in a warehouse that serves Gemini Plastic Enterprises, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
With the fire still smoldering this afternoon, officials said residents were not likely to be allowed back into their homes before Wednesday morning.
County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said arriving crews found flames shooting through the roofs of two structures, one of which was a metal-recycling plant. Crews began pouring water on the flames, but the oxygen from the water created a chemical reaction with the burning magnesium, one of the metals being stored at the facility and awaiting recycling, producing what one fire official described as “fireballs” and setting off strong explosions.
“We had some very violent, ferocious explosions in the facility,” Osby said, adding that in addition to magnesium, other metals such as coppers, zinc and lead were present, along with chemicals and propane.
Firefighters immediately stopped pouring water on the burning metal, Deputy County Fire Chief John Tripp said at an afternoon news conference.
Osby said fire crews quickly went into a defense mode and were able to prevent the blaze from spreading from the two commercial structures that were destroyed to other businesses and nearby homes.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deployed deputies from several sheriff’s stations to the area, and about 300 residents were evacuated from homes and businesses as a precaution while authorities assessed air quality. Traffic was routed away from the area.
“The majority of the evacuations were mandatory (and) other residents voluntarily evacuated to safety,” according to the sheriff’s department.
A shelter was set up for evacuees at the Maywood YMCA at 4801 58th St. and about 40 residents had availed themselves of that assistance, officials said.
The blaze led more than 3,100 customers in the area to lose power at 2:45 a.m., and crews were sent to handle the problem, a Southern California Edison representative said.
Some of the area businesses get electrical service through a municipal utility, according to Tripp, who said firefighters intentionally ordered power to overhead lines to be cut for the safety of crews battling the fire.
A hazardous-materials team was sent to the scene, and officials from the South Coast Air Quality Management District were notified. The AQMD later issued a smoke advisory, saying odor from the plume of smoke was prompting complaints across the region.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said reports of an acrid smell were coming in to authorities from all areas of the city.
Humphrey urged residents not to call 911 to report the acrid smell, and to limit such calls to situations in which people see smoke or flames from an active fire, or if they have a medical emergency.
AQMD officials said experts are taking measurements to assess possible toxic concerns. Residents were advised to avoid vigorous outdoor exercise in areas affected by the smoke, particularly in central, south-central and southeastern parts of the county. People with heart or respiratory disease, children and older adults were advised to remain indoors.
Tripp said the fire was producing gases this afternoon that were no more harmful than those from a run-of-the-mill building fire and there was no hazard outside the immediate area of the fire.
He recommended residents carefully brush off any material that settles on clothing or other such surfaces and to use soap and water to clean hard surfaces such as vehicles.
The fire continued to smolder this afternoon and Tripp said it probably wouldn’t be completely extinguished before Wednesday.
“We’re hoping to make good progress in the next six to eight hours,” he said, adding that crews will use heavy equipment to remove the metals from the scene and make sure all smoldering material is extinguished.
—City News Service