On Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 10:25 PM, fifteen Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, six LAFD Rescue Ambulances, one Arson Unit, one Urban Search and Rescue Unit, one Rehab Unit, one Hazardous Materials Squad, one LAFD Helicopter, three EMS Battalion Captains, four Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and one Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 113 personnel under the direction of Assistant Chief Greg West responded to a Hazardous Material Investigation at 11120 Sherman Way in the northeast San Fernando Valley community of Sun Valley.
Firefighters, responding to reports of a possible structure fire, arrived quickly at a one story industrial firm to discover a large volume of thick white ‘smoke’ emanating from a single 100-gallon dolly mounted cask stored outside of the closed business.
Finding the building to be placarded for hazardous materials and aware of the atypical vapor present, Firefighters immediately established a wide perimeter, and dynamically maintained Command Post and staging locations in response to light but erratic winds.
An LAFD Helicopter served the key role of aerial reconnaissance and command support as a full closure of nearby Sherman Way was ordered between Vineland and Tujunga Avenues.
Los Angeles Police and Transportation officials took charge of bystander and traffic control before meeting at the Fire Department Command Post to prepare for the possible evacuation of an adjacent residential neighborhood.
The detailed yet quickly prepared plans of the three agencies however, proved unnecessary, as LAFD Hazardous Materials experts were soon joined by the firm’s Chemist and Plant Manager at the scene.
Together, they identified the product in the cask as being “Manganese Dioxide”, which had apparently become contaminated, spurring the exothermic reaction and vapor production at Flamemaster Corporation, a manufacturer of sealants, adhesives, heat-resistant and fire retardant coatings.
LAFD Haz-Mat trained Firefighters used sophisticated instruments, including thermal imaging cameras, to closely monitor the temperature of the cask as water-based cooling measures were undertaken for more than two hours to lessen the reaction and vapor production, ultimately stabilizing the situation without Firefighter or civilian injury, and allowing for the reopening of Sherman Way.
The County of Los Angeles Fire Department’s Health Hazardous Materials Division remained at the scene and will be working with Flamemaster staff to fully resolve matters related to the event.