Truck explosion at So. Calif. wastewater facility injures 2

SANTA PAULA, Calif. — Ventura County firefighters were allowing spot fires to consume an unstable substance that ignited at a wastewater facility near Santa Paula agricultural fields, injuring at least two people early Tuesday.

The incident began when a vacuum truck exploded at the Santa Paula Waste Water Company around 3:45 a.m.

The blast scattered an organic peroxide that began to crystallize and spontaneously ignite, Fire Capt. Mike Lindbery told KTTV-TV.

Following the explosion, two people were brought to the ER at Ventura County Medical Center with respiratory injuries, according to hospital spokeswoman Sheila Murphy. Their conditions were not immediately known.

An ambulance driver, three firefighters and about a dozen medical center employees who came into contact with the injured people were decontaminated at the hospital, Murphy said.

Firefighters backed off, leaving one engine behind because its tires began to ignite as it rolled over the unstable material.

A half-mile perimeter has been established at the facility, disrupting local traffic.