Los Angeles County Fire Department Health Hazardous Materials personnel were dispatched to a business in the Valencia Industrial Center after a leak was reported and employees reported the smell of chlorine in the building Thursdayafternoon, according to officials with the Fire Department.
The leak was later reported to be sewer gas emitting from a drain, according to witnesses on the scene and first responder radio dispatch traffic.
Firefighters were dispatched at 12:17 p.m. and were arriving to the scene at 12:18 p.m., according to Keith Navarre with the Fire Department.
At 12:25 p.m., there was no smoke or visible evidence of the leak showing near the commercial building on the 25000 block of Avenue Stanford, and employees were evacuated immediately, according to Kaitlyn Aldana with the Fire Department.
The building is home to HRD Aero Systems Inc., an aircraft safety equipment business that builds fire extinguishers, oxygen systems, inflatables, and more, according to its website.
A large crowd of employees could be seen evacuating the facility and separated into two groups.
One group was for people who didn’t report any symptoms while the second was for those who reported to have had a stinging sensation in their eyes, said an employee who wished to not be named. She added that employees were told the reported leak was sewage gas.
There was one ambulance requested at the time of this publication, and the Health Hazardous Materials Division was requested, Navarre added.
Radio dispatch traffic indicated two additional ambulances were being requested, and a medical treatment area was being established in a parking lot.
Although first responders created a medical treatment area, no transports were reported.
Signal Staff Writer Katherine Quezada contributed to this report.
