Orange Vapor Cloud Lingers Over Chatsworth Business
Firefighters evacuated employees from a business, Monday, when chemicals mixed and emitted an orange cloud behind a large commercial building.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a hazardous materials incident on the 20700 block of West Marilla Street at 1:03 PM on June 10, 2024 after 9-1-1 callers reported seeing a vapor cloud coming from the back of a business. Firefighters arrived and observed orange smoke coming from the rear of an approximately 20,000 square-foot building.
Thankfully, the location where the chemicals inadvertently mixed, creating a chemical reaction, was in an outdoor storage area. Firefighters evacuated the 31 people from the building for the rest of the business day, and isolated the area to make sure no one wandered into the unknown smoke. LAFD hazardous materials specialists responded and entered the area with special equipment to sample the mystery chemicals. Crews identified them as unknown acids and orchestrated a clean up crew, in coordination with LA County Health Hazmat, to get the building ready for employees to resume work by the next morning.
Paramedics evaluated eight people, as a precaution. One person was transported with minor skin irritation for further evaluation at a local hospital. No other injuries were caused by the incident.
