Chemicals Affect 3 Deputies Who Attack Fire

SANTA CLARITA — Three sheriff’s deputies were briefly hospitalized after helping extinguish a fire in a fumigation tent at an elementary school early Wednesday, authorities said.

The deputies, answering a report of a juvenile disturbance about 12:10 a.m., discovered that a corner of a fumigation tent surrounding a temporary classroom at Rosedell Elementary School in Saugus had caught fire, said Sgt. Tony Hollins of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

“The deputies took the fire extinguisher from their car and got the flames down to the point where they were manageable until the Fire Department arrived,” Hollins aid.

Deputies Corry Cline, Brian Okimoto and Sgt. Robert Galarneau were exposed to sulfuryl flourine and chloropicrin from the tent, potentially fatal chemicals used to kill termites, said Capt. Don Scott of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Deputies complained of having trouble breathing.

The three deputies were treated by firefighters for exposure to hazardous chemicals and taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where they were pronounced in good condition and released, Hollins said.

He said that the tent sustained some damage, but that the classroom was unharmed by the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation and the juveniles reportedly seen on the campus remain at large.