CAMARILLO : 400 Evacuated After Alarm Malfunctions
A Camarillo company that uses highly toxic materials to make solar panels evacuated about 400 employees from its building and neighboring businesses Friday morning after an alarm malfunctioned, alerting occupants of a possible chemical spill, authorities said.
Employees of Siemens Solar, 4650 Adohr Lane, abandoned the building about 7:30 a.m. while fire officials investigated the area for almost two hours.
About 10 hazardous materials investigators from the Ventura County Fire Department found no hazardous leaks but instead found a problem with the company’s chemical-sensor alarm, said Richard A. Perry, battalion chief for the Fire Department.
The company uses a “very sophisticated†alarm system with sensors throughout the building, “designed to pick up minute traces of materials in the atmosphere,†Perry said. Siemens’ labs contain “highly toxic†materials including some that ignite spontaneously when exposed to air, he said.
Company researchers will check the system but believe the problem to be electrical, said Ilana P. Meskin, Siemens’ director of human resources.
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