By Greg Gross
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Copyright 2006 The San Diego Union-Tribune

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — A two-alarm fire destroyed a metal plating factory early yesterday, leaving a ruin contaminated with a potentially deadly mix of hazardous materials, including cyanide.

The remains of North County Plating and Polishing were smoking as dawn rose over the city yesterday, and crews were using mounds of dirt to contain contaminated runoff from water used to fight the fire, said fire department spokeswoman Carol Rea.

The cause is under investigation, but it did not appear to be suspicious. Rea said the damage could total $1 million. No injuries were reported.

Crews decided against entering the building because of the chemicals. The fire was allowed to burn itself out, while firefighters worked at protecting the surrounding buildings.

The fire and cleanup forced authorities to close Industrial Avenue between Andreasen Drive and Hale Avenue for most of the day.

A guard had reported smoke rising through the roof at 1:30 a.m. at the factory on Industrial Avenue, west of Interstate 15.

More than 40 firefighters from Escondido, San Marcos and Vista fought the blaze, but they were hampered by the building's lethal cocktail of chemicals, Rea said.

"There were a variety of metals inside, (and) also cyanide, muriatic acid, sulfuric acid and boric acid," Rea said.