Five individuals were thrust into a landscape of unexpected violence this morning when a blaze erupted amidst the hallowed halls of technology at L3Harris Aerojet Rocketdyne Coleman Aerospace in Orlando, igniting more than just the volatile lithium powder on-site. According to ClickOrlando, the fire started at 8:20 a.m. and quickly became serious, requiring urgent medical help for two people caught unexpectedly between routine and danger.
As reported by WESH, the Orlando Fire Department quickly controlled the fire, which left five people injured. Three were hospitalized, and two were burn trauma patients. Fueled by lithium, the fire was fought with dry powder extinguishers instead of water.
Continuing, Orlando Fire Chief Charlie Salazar lauded his team's efficiency and discipline in confronting what one might see as an insidious threat. "(Firefighters) did a very good job, this could have been a very dangerous situation," Salazar stated, as per ClickOrlando. His assistant further detailed, "In this case here, it was not a lithium-ion product, it was powder lithium on site for use in the business and it ignited due to an unknown cause," stated Assistant Fire Chief Walter Louis.
Moreover, as the alarm clanged its dread toll, summoning hazmat teams and arson/bomb squads to the labyrinth of potential destruction, it became clear that the substance was contained in a room, a testament to the protocols designed to avert wider devastation. Thought to pose a risk with potentially toxic smoke, Assistant Chief Walter Louis, in a statement detailed by WESH, assured that the fumes would "only be dangerous in very close proximity." Crews then meticulously decontaminated the area to ensure the specter of the morning's events was fully exorcised.
