Friday, February 8, 2013

Port of LA Chemical Fire Doused


One person was hospitalized this week after firefighters responded to a fire in a storage area on Terminal Island where goods are imported through the Port of Los Angeles.

At 11:43 a.m. on Tues., Feb. 5, Los Angeles firefighters responded to the facility near the intersection of Cannery Street and Terminal Way to investigate a fire in an outside storage area where imported goods are fumigated.

Upon their arrival, they found white smoke coming from a 55-gallon drum used to neutralize pesticide products. LA Fire Dept. hazardous material experts then assembled an entry team, performed an assessment and managed to control the fire using a dry chemical fire extinguisher.

The product within the drum was eventually identified by the LAFD hazardous material team as aluminum phosphide, which is used as a rodenticide, insecticide and fumigant for stored cereal grains.
One Los Angeles Port Police officer who was exposed to the smoke was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation, according to LA Fire.

The Health Hazardous Materials Division of the Los Angeles County Fire Dept. is investigating the incident. The fire was not believed to have had any impact on Port of Los Angeles operations and shipping continued as normal, according to the LAFD.