Vapor Cloud Prompts Evacuation At Chatsworth Aerospace Building

CHATSWORTH, CA — One person was hospitalized when an unidentified vapor cloud prompted the evacuation of a commercial aerospace and electronics building in Chatsworth Monday. A hazardous materials team was keeping people away from the building while they worked to identify the substance, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Firefighters were called to the 20700 block of West Marilla Street shortly after 1 p.m. when several people were evacuated and evaluated at the scene, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. The address is the location of defense contractor Firan Technology Group. The business produces aerospace and defense electronic products and subsystems.

When paramedics arrived on the scene, they evacuated about 31 people from the building, and evaluated eight patients.

"They will isolate the hazard area and deny entry until the nature of the vapor cloud is known," said Prange. "One person — approximately 50-year-old male — was transported with only minor medical complaints."

"LAFD's Hazardous Materials specialists continue to investigate the identity and source of the vapor cloud coming from an outdoor storage area behind a large one-story commercial building," he added.