A 55-gallon drum that began heating itself after an accidental chemical mix-up sent Huntington Beach firefighters into hazmat mode Wednesday, forcing an evacuation around an industrial park. The response was precautionary, but the mystery inside the drum was still unresolved as crews worked to identify the material.
The incident was reported before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 15200 block of News Boy Circle, where the drum was sitting outside a business, according to CBS News Los Angeles. The immediate area was cleared while crews investigated what had been mixed inside and why the container was self-heating, while the number of businesses affected remained unclear.
Evacuation Was Limited To The Immediate Area
Huntington Beach Fire Department officials said the evacuation was limited to the immediate area and that they did not anticipate a threat to life or property, CBS News reported. That made the evacuation a precautionary move while firefighters worked to determine what kind of hazard the drum presented.
Chemical Inside Drum Remains Unidentified
The key unanswered question was what had been mixed into the 55-gallon container. Huntington Beach's hazardous-material incident policy says the Fire Department responds to reported hazmat incidents within the city, according to a city policy document. Officials had not yet identified the substance or said when nearby businesses could fully resume operations.
