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What is being described as a "thunderous explosion," according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, ripped through a Sylmar businessin a commercial area late yesterday afternoon, tearing the roof off the building and leaving three men injured, per a news release.The explosion brought out numerous first responders to the scene at an industrial park at and the unidentified "alternative fuel and green energy firm" located at 12349 Gladstone Avenue. The LAFD explain what they discovered upon arrival:
[F]irefighters found missing doors, buckled masonry walls, widely scattered debris and large portions of the roof blown over the parapets of a 50' x 150' section of a 7,400 square-foot one-and-two story building. There was however, no evidence of fire.
Two men from the building were determined to need critical care after they were sent flying out of the structure by the force of the explosion. A third man who walked up to the incident command post professed needing medical attention for minor injuries. No one was trapped, however, and no one was missing.
Witnesses say they could hear and feel the blast from a one-mile area around the building. Just what caused the incident, however, is not yet clear:
Though the enterprise reportedly used pressure vessels and was involved in the "extraction of hydrogen from water", the specific cause of the explosion remains under active investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section and Cal/OSHA officials.
