Santa Ana, CA – Sprinkler system helps minimize damage in fire at aluminum manufacturer; No injuries

Fire crews extinguished a fire inside an aluminum manufacturing business Thursday in Santa Ana, authorities said.   Fire Authority officials were called at 2 p.m. to a fire at Aluminum Precision Products in the 2600 block of South Susan Street, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The company makes die aluminum forgings for the aerospace industry.  Twenty employees were near a forging press machine when it caught fire. The blaze quickly spread to the roof where a sprinkler system was activated.

“An oily residue kept igniting the fire on the ceiling,” Concialdi said.   The fire was under control by 2:40 p.m.  A Fire Authority hazmat crew contained the runoff mixture of water and chemicals.

Fifty employees were inside the building when the fire broke out, but were able to exit safety. No one was reported injured.  Around 55 firefighters with OCFA and the Fountain Valley, Garden Grove and Huntington Beach fire departments responded to the building.

The cause of the fire was an unknown failure of the forging press machine. Damages were at least $50,000, Concialdi said.  It was not clear if the business would reopen Thursday. More to come.