Santa Fe Springs, Downey and Los Angeles County firefighters respond to a structure fire at the IBS cosmetics company warehouse where one worker died in the three-alarm blaze at 10015 Pioneer Boulevard in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. March 7, 2016. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb/Whittier Daily News)
SANTA FE SPRINGS >> The cause of an explosion and fire that destroyed a Santa Fe Springs beauty care product distribution company and killed an employee remains a mystery, authorities said Wednesday.
The identity of the worker killed in Tuesday afternoon’s fast-spreading an intense fire at Innosys Beauty Care IBS, Inc., 10015 Pioneer Blvd., had yet to be determined, Ed Winter, Los Angeles County Department of Medical-Examiner Coroner said. Santa Fe Springs Fire Chief Michael Crook described the victim as a man of about 30 years old.
Following reports of an explosion at the facility, which repackages and distributes beauty care products such as hair shampoo and conditioner, firefighters arrived to find the warehouse portion of the business engulfed in flames.
All but one employee had managed to get out of the burning building before firefighters arrived.
“Fellow occupants reported they did have a fellow worker inside. They knew he did not get out,” Crook said.
Firefighters rushed into the flame-engulfed warehouse and found the man, but could not save him, the chief said. Paramedics pronounced the worker dead at the scene.
The involved business unit, which contained both a warehouse and an office operated by IBC, was a “total loss,” Crook said. He initially estimated the damage at more than $500,000, but added that officials were yet to tally the value of the products and other contents of the building destroyed by the three-alarm fire.
Nearby fire agencies joined Santa Fe Springs firefighters in battling the massive blaze. Firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to other business adjoined to the burning structure, though at least one sustained water damage.
“We were very fortunate to keep the fire to one unit,” Crook said.
Representatives of IBC could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the Whittier Police Department and the county joined Santa e Springs fire officials at the scene Wednesday to continue gathering clues.
“The investigation is ongoing with the focus being on why there was an explosion, since the warehouse was used as a distribution site and not for manufacturing,” SFS Department of Fire-Rescue Chief Michael Crook said.
The one-story building stored boxes of silicone-based hair products, which may have been involved in the fire’s explosive rate of spread.
Investigators collected samples of the different products stored in the warehouse for lab analysis. Lab results were expected by early next week.
“We are looking into if these products led to the explosion and the intensity of the fire,” Crook explained.
The products, he continued, were stored in bulk-type containers and transferred to smaller bottles to sell at salons.
He said the fire was also fueled by the plastic bottles inside the warehouse.
“Plastic burns fast and hot,” he explained.
The investigation also focused on what the employee who was killed in the fire, such as where exactly he was in the warehouse when the fire ignited, and what he was doing, Crook said.
One firefighter and one civilian suffered minor injuries in the fire, he said.
- Brian Day and Sandra Molina
