Irvine : Fire at Hughes Aircraft Forces Office Evacuation

A Tuesday morning fire at the Hughes Aircraft Co. in Irvine sent irritating acetic fumes through an industrial park and forced the evacuation of two nearby office buildings before the flames were extinguished, fire and police officials said.

The fire apparently ignited near a 105-gallon bin of cupric chloride in the Hughes building at 17150 Von Karman Ave. about 6:30 a.m. and was extinguished about a half-hour later, Orange County Fire Department spokesman Joe Kerr said.

A sprinkler system kept the fire contained to the first floor of the two-story building, Kerr said.

Toxic materials teams from the Orange County and Huntington Beach fire departments remained on the scene after the fire was put out and donned protective suits to investigate the contents of the tank.

Kerr said that a container with polypropane also caught fire, causing thick, black smoke. No damage estimate was available and no injuries were reported, although workers in the area complained of headaches, Kerr said.

Fifty firefighters fought the blaze. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The Hughes plant, which manufactures cables for electrical circuitry, normally employs 750 people, Kerr said, but only three of them were in the building when the blaze broke out.