Cooling system at chemical tanks likely failed, forcing mass O.C. evacuations, fire officials say
Key takeaways
- This may have led to a buildup of heat in a pressurized tank filled with 7,000 gallons of a chemical called methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable liquid monomer used to manufacture plastics.
- “We don’t know why, but it stopped cooling,” McGovern said. “So that’s what started this event, to where the product heated up ... and that’s how this whole response started.
- Further evaluations over the Memorial Day weekend found the tank had a crack that had reduced pressure, eliminating the possibility of a catastrophic blast.
Remote fire suppression hoses spray water on large storage tanks at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) By Hannah Fry Staff Writer Follow May 26, 2026 2:03 PM PT 2 4 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
The crisis at a Garden Grove aerospace firm that required the evacuation of 50,000 people was probably caused by the failure of a cooling system designed to regulate the temperature of chemical tanks, interim Orange County Fire Authority Chief TJ McGovern told The Times on Tuesday.
This may have led to a buildup of heat in a pressurized tank filled with 7,000 gallons of a chemical called methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable liquid monomer used to manufacture plastics.