1 Killed, 2 Injured in Chemical Blast in Santa Clarita

An explosion killed one worker and injured two others Thursday morning at a Santa Clarita plant where automotive air bag trigger devices are made, authorities said.

Charles Tillman, 48, of Encino was moving cans of powdered zirconium potassium perchlorate from a delivery van to a building at Special Devices Inc., authorities said.

“A can fell to the ground, discharged and caused other cans to explode,” Los Angeles County fire Inspector Mark Whaling said. Tillman was killed instantly.

The blast, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m., on West Placerita Canyon Road, was heard two miles away, fire officials said.

By noon, most of the 500 workers at the plant had been evacuated.

Tillman’s job was to transport volatile chemicals in the specially equipped truck among buildings at the plant, sheriff’s Deputy Cruz Solis said.

It was the second fatality in an explosion at Special Devices. In 1982, a man working in a room where chemicals were blended was killed when sparks from a space heater ignited the substances.

In 1993 and 1996, explosions at the plant resulted in serious injuries to workers. In the first explosion, a chemist lost part of his right hand. In the second, two workers were hospitalized.

A worker injured in Thursday’s blast complained of ringing in his ears and was taken to a hospital. Another worker, cut on the head by flying debris, was treated at the scene by paramedics.