Fire ignites hazardous material worries

Deepa Bharath

A vat of acid exploded at a metal plating company early Tuesday

morning, igniting a two-alarm fire and causing about $50,000 in

damages but no injuries, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the call at Hixson Metal Plating Co. in

the 800 block of Production Place at about 4:32 a.m. after a vat

containing hydrofluoric and nitric acids exploded and sparked a fire,

said Donna Boston, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

“Employees who were working in the business tried to extinguish

the fire with a hand-held extinguisher, but were unsuccessful,” she

said. “They then called 911 and left the building.”

Boston said firefighters saw smoke and fire flowing from the

building.

“They determined there was no one in the building and started to

fight the fire,” she said.

The Orange County Fire Authority’s Hazardous Materials Team was

also called because of the chemicals used by the metal plating

company, Boston said. The fire was under control within 40 minutes,

she said.

Newport Beach Battalion Chief Craig Chastain said firefighters put

up berms on the street to prevent runoff from the business to get

into the ocean.

“We didn’t have a spill,” he said.

The runoff was all vacuumed as a precaution, Chastain said.

He added that residents in nearby apartment homes were not in

danger and that no one was evacuated.

All employees of the business as well as 20 firefighters from

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach who responded to the call, were sent to

Hoag Hospital for an evaluation, Boston said.

“It’s been our routine practice for several years now,” she said.

“It’s just the nature of their work. Firefighters are constantly

exposed to danger and any time we have an incident that is out of the

normal realm that involves hazardous materials, they go through a

medical evaluation.”

The fire was not the first such incident at Hixson. In February

1987, the business was the scene of a much larger fire that released

potentially toxic fumes and forced the evacuation of more than 200

residents for five days.

In January 1995, 30 to 40 firefighters quickly controlled a fire

that officials said were caused by a malfunctioning rooftop vapor

collection and scrubber unit.

The death of Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steven Van Horn, who died

of leukemia in 1997 is said to be directly related to the Hixson

blaze of 1987. Van Horn was said to have been the first officer on

scene.

Hixson officials were not available for comment.

Chastain said Tuesday’s fire is still under investigation. He said

the repeated incidents at the business can be attributed to the

inherent danger of running a metal plating business.

Chastain said all businesses in Newport Beach, including Hixson,

are subject to annual inspections.

“They’re dealing with a lot of chemicals here,” he said about

Hixson. “But they seem to be operating as safely as they can.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.