Chemical Fire Destroys Storage Shed

PLACENTIA —  Drums of antifreeze, propane and other chemicals stored in a shed shared by two building supply companies exploded into orange balls of fire Friday, sending plumes of smoke hundreds of feet into the air.

Police cordoned off the seven-acre industrial site at 801 Lakeview Ave. from La Palma to Orangethorpe avenues while fire officials tried to inventory the chemicals involved in the storage shed fire. Early reports that a neighboring fumigation company was threatened prompted Orange County Fire Authority officials to respond to the scene along with hazardous-materials teams.

Capt. Scott Brown said it turned out the fumigation company was not involved, and Hazmat crews determined no dangerous fumes or contaminates had been released. Six homes immediately north of the supply yards were briefly evacuated as a precaution, Brown said.

Firefighters managed to put out the blaze at Atwood Sales Inc. and Paragon Building Products without any injuries, but they were unsure late Friday what caused the blaze.

“We were concerned when we first got on scene because there were several explosions . . . in an area known to have combustibles,” Brown said. “But thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought.”

Jeff Goodman, vice president of Paragon Building Products, said he was at his house about five miles away when he saw smoke billowing over a hill “in the same vicinity” as his company. Goodman drove to the site, where he found firefighters swarming the scene.

Goodman and Ralph Kennedy, general manager of Atwood Sales, said the maintenance area primarily is used to service vehicles and heavy equipment, and containers of oil waste are stacked inside. Also within the one-story structure is a field office for Goodman’s company. Both businesses specialize in supplies such as bricks, patio blocks, concrete benches and steppingstones.

“It looks like we lost it all, that whole [structure],” Kennedy said. “I’m just grateful all of my men had already gone home or we could have had a real tragedy.”

Both companies are insured, the men said.

“This is not a disaster in that sense,” Goodman said. “This is an annoyance.”