A fire damaged Elite Metal Finishing in Oceanside, California, on July 1.
According to the Oceanside Fire Department, firefighters from Oceanside, Vista, and San Marcos fire departments responded to reports of a structure fire around 9:45 p.m. Elite Metal Finishing.
Firefighters spent three hours battling a fire at Elite Metal Finishing.The cause of the fire remained under investigation by the Oceanside Fire Department. It took about three hours to put out the fire. The building housed several businesses, but all employees were able to evacuate safely before crews arrived. Two firefighters and another person had minor chemical exposure, the department said.
"Employees confirmed the presence of potentially large amounts of hazardous materials," the department said in a news release. "Out of caution, entry was limited to a few crews to avoid unnecessary exposure. Crews attacked the fire from the exterior while truck companies ventilated the roof, and additional teams searched unaffected areas for occupants and fire extension."
The main fire was contained to the center occupancy, according to the department. Due to exposure to smoke, water runoff, and chemicals, the fire department says several responders required on-scene decontamination.
San Diego Fire-Rescue's HAZMAT team and San Diego County Environmental Health responded to help the Oceanside Fire Department and advise on hazardous materials containment and decontamination procedures.
Elite Metal Finishing was founded in 2000 and offers anodizing, chem film, electroless nickel, passivation, laser engraving, painting, powder coating, and bead blasting for various industries.
