Firefighters battle five-alarm chemical company fire in Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - A fire gutted a chemical company in an Anaheim industrial area on Friday, leaving two firefighters with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, and a female employee with an ankle injury.

The fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. at the American Chemical & Sanitary Supply building in the 3800 block of East Miraloma Avenue.

The Anaheim Fire Department quickly upgraded its response to the sprawling complex as the blaze sent a thick plume of black smoke into the sky.

By shortly after 4 p.m., the fire was upgraded to a fifth alarm, according to Anaheim police, and fire crews took a defensive posture, pouring water onto the burning structure from ladder trucks.

Miraloma was closed in both directions between Van Buren and Tustin avenues.

Luis Salazar owns the American Chemical Supply Company, a janitorial supply business. The fire didn't just burn paper towels, soap and brooms...for him, part of his American dream went up in flames. Salazar told the news media that the 10 to 15 people who were inside when the fire erupted got out OK, but one woman ran back to get her purse and apparently sustained an ankle injury.

Two firefighters from Fullerton suffered minor injuries -- one apparently with heat exhaustion, and another believed to have suffered some type of electrical shock.

Police urged people to avoid the area, noting that the blaze was burning in a chemical company, creating a hazardous-materials issue.