1 killed in commercial building explosion in Southern California industrial area

1 killed in Southern Calif. blast

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — One person was found dead after an explosion rocked a commercial building Thursday, authorities said.

Two other people were assessed by firefighters but were found not to have any injuries, said Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Ron Oatman. Initially three people were believed injured.

Firefighters located the body in the partially collapsed building, determined there was nothing that could be done for the person and then backed out to assess what they were dealing with, Oatman said.

Firefighters learned that the business, called Realm Industries, performs alternative fuels testing, but “we really don’t know what the definition of that is,” Oatman said.

Firefighters were carefully moving back inside, checking to make sure there was no explosive atmosphere.

Businesses in a half-mile radius were evacuated after blast, which blew a hole in the building’s roof.

Another one of the businesses occupying the building is the Simi Valley branch of the contracting company Servpro, which specializes in cleaning up water-, fire- and smoke-damaged buildings.

Servpro office manager Allison Marrero-Mofa told The Associated Press that five to 10 people were in the industrial property at the time of the explosion.