On Wednesday, November 16, 2005 at 917 HRS, ten Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, including an LAFD Hazardous Materials Task Force, fourteen LAFD Rescue Ambulances, three EMS Battalion Captains and three Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, under the direction of Assistant Chief Michael Fulmis responded to a Hazardous Materials Investigation at 1735 South Santa Fe Avenue in the Industrial Eastside of Los Angeles. According to witnesses, hydraulic fluid from a very large compressor on the second floor of a voluminous two-story industrial building had ruptured at approximately 700 HRS, causing an unspecified quantity of lubricant to vaporize when it came into contact with heated machinery. The management at Superba, Inc., a manufacturer of neckwear, shut down the machinery and requested employees to leave the building at that time.
With belief that the situation had been abated and the 200' x 200' cinder block building had been adequately ventilated, management allowed employees to re-enter the firm at approximately 900 HRS. At 917 HRS, the Los Angeles Fire Department was first summoned when a handful of the 75 employees working near the earlier leak began complaining of minor respiratory irritation and general malaise.
Arriving in less than three minutes, and confronted by scores of workers then leaving the building, Firefighters escalated their initial report of “smoke in a structure” to a formal Hazardous Materials Investigation. Working closely with Los Angeles Police and Department of Transportation officials, Firefighters closed Santa Fe Avenue to all traffic between Olympic and Washington Boulevards to safely accommodate as many
as 600 evacuees from the business. Thanks to an efficient triage process, eleven employees stating a desire for medical evaluation were quickly identified. With minor to moderate complaints of respiratory irritation, subjective shortness of breath and dizziness, these eleven ambulatory adults were quickly assessed by LAFD Paramedics before seven were taken by Fire Department ambulance to area hospitals in fair to good condition. The remaining four stated a desire to seek their own medical treatment, and no other injuries were reported.
LAFD Hazardous Materials experts, wearing protective gear and outfitted with sophisticated sensing devices, made a cursory evaluation of the building and found no immediate evidence of an escalating hazard. The building was subsequently allowed to ventilate naturally pending the requisite presence of Los Angeles County Health Department, Health HazMat Division officials, who will complete the investigation.