Fountain Valley Assists in Firefighting Efforts at HazMat Storage Facility in Santa Ana

A fire erupted Tuesday morning at a Santa Ana storage yard where hazardous materials were being stored and raged for some six hours before firefighters finally declared a knockdown.

The fire, which went to four alarms, was reported at the La Rosa Company around 1:15 a.m. in an industrial area in the 2100 block South Anne Street, said Capt. Steve Concialdi, an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman.

"A knockdown was declared at 7:12 a.m., but we still have multiple hotspots and firefighters on scene," Concialdi said more than an hour later. "I expect they (firefighters) will remain on scene for quite a while." 

At its height, Concialdi said, around 100 firefighters battled the blaze, working to keep the flames from making their way into adjacent structures. No injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered, he said.

Concialdi said there were more than 30 drums of "acetone and alcohol, materials that are used in making nail polish, nail polish remover and other things related to that business." All night long, he said, firefighters had to deal with explosions from the barrels of acetone and alcohol that caught fire.

"That's why we're decontaminating the firefighters equipment and clothes, because the ash is from that hazardous material that burned," he said, explaining why firefighters were being hosed down.

HazMat crews were summoned to the scene, as were the Orange County public works storm water division, which was assigned to prevent contaminated runoff, Concialdi said.

Crews from the Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa fire departments were assisting Orange County Fire Authority firefighters in battling the blaze, he said.

Concialdi said he didn't know what caused the fire. "It's going to take hours for our investigators to get in there and see where it started," he said.

– City News Service.