Contamination Threat Forces Evacuation of Burbank Homes

Fears of a toxic gas cloud from a fire at a metal plating plant prompted the evacuation of more than 100 residents of a Burbank neighborhood for about six hours early Sunday, but contamination was contained in the damaged building, fire officials said.

Firefighters evacuated the neighborhood because they knew the Dynamic Plating Corp. plant in the 1100 block of Isabel Street contained cyanide, although they did not know at the time whether any toxic vapors were escaping, Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Whittekiend said.

No Toxins Escape

Authorities later determined that no cyanide or other toxins escaped into the atmosphere, said Erlinda A. Macalintal, an environmental health officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

As about 40 firefighters battled the 1 a.m. blaze, a tank containing a diluted but poisonous cyanide solution overflowed onto the floor, Whittekiend said.

Firefighters Dan Yonan and Mike Bouford were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and washed down after the water entered their boots and they felt an “itching, tingling sensation,” Whittekiend said.

The contaminated water was being held in the building Sunday as fire officials waited for a private contractor to arrive and clean it up, Macalintal said. Water that had already escaped from the building was tested and found to be free of toxic chemicals, she said.

About 50 homes on Mariposa Street, Beachwood Drive and Griffith Park Drive were evacuated, Whittekiend said, and Burbank officials and the American Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at Walt Disney Elementary School on nearby Orange Grove Avenue. Seventy-three people reported to the shelter and about 50 others waited in Olive Park, he said.

Burbank Police Sgt. Joseph Dahlia and Officer Joseph Dean were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation, Police Lt. Art Moody said. Officer Darren Ryburn was treated at the scene for eye irritation, he said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated, Whittekiend said. The point of origin was not known Sunday, but the blaze appeared to be centered in a room containing electrical controls, he said. The fire burned through the roof of the one-story cement-block building before it was brought under control after about 45 minutes.