Kern County Fire Department responds to early morning fire at Nusil Technology

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — After being called out to a structure fire at Nusil Technology this morning at around 5:25 a.m., the Kern County Fire Department discovered the source of the alarm was a fire in a 55 gallon drum within the facility.

Fire crews kept the fire from spreading while members of the KCFD Hazardous Materials team determined potential risks from the contents of the drum. Once it was determined that the product would not react negatively to water, firefighters quickly extinguised the flames.

"KCFD HazMat members along with Kern County Environmental Health investigated risks associated with water run off from firefighting operations. There were no concerns with run off into storm water drainage systems due to the construction features at the facility. All water has been contained on site for storage and disposal," reported the Kern County Fire Deapmertment.

It was determined that the fire began while an "an employee was transferring a hydride from one container to another. As a precaution this employee as well as another employee who was nearby at the time, were taken to a local hospital for evaluation."