Explosion at International Recording Co.

[Berolzheimer]

I worked at this place for a few weeks last year. It was interesting, the owner used to be an engineer at Ampex & had piles of MM-1000 parts lying around, plus a bunch of MM1000's & 1100's that he had coverted to film dubbers, a highly modified Quad Eight console & piles of QE parts (I know he sold a buch of QE eqs last year), racks of McIntosh amps that he used for his monitors, a Euphonics system 5, ....


Blast rocks studio

Facility damaged by loud explosion

By Susan Abram
Staff Writer

BURBANK -- A powerful explosion early Sunday at a recording studio shook windows of nearby homes and apartments and sent debris flying within a half-mile radius of the burning building.

No one was injured in the blast, which ignited a fire that sent out plumes of smoke at the large brick structure at First Street and Santa Anita Avenue near the Golden State Freeway.

About 75 firefighters from Burbank and Glendale used ladder trucks to bring the blaze under control at International Recording Corp., which re-records film soundtracks.

The explosion was reported at 8:17 a.m., said Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell. No one was inside the structure at the time of the blast, he said.

Fiberglass insulation, sheets of roofing material and metal were strewn over streets and on rooftops of nearby businesses.

"The first thing we saw was fire on the roof, and we could see that debris flew in a half-mile radius," Bell said. "We don't know the nature of the explosion, and we don't want to walk into a building that's unsafe."

Residents from as far as three blocks away said the explosion caused windows to shake. One resident said the explosion seemed to have expelled the air from inside her home.

"It woke me up, and the whole building shook," said Vincent Rodricks, who owns a martial arts studio one block away.

Fire officials said the cause of the explosion was under investigation, though early reports indicate it was accidental. The cost of the damage was unclear Sunday, but Burbank Fire Marshall Dave Starr said it was in the millions.

The major portion of the fire was knocked down about 10 a.m., but Starr said firefighters continued to work on spot fires and other hot spots well into Sunday night.

International Recording Corp. specializes in large-scale feature films. It is one of the largest and last remaining independent studios that re-records film soundtracks, and lists "Dances With Wolves," as one of its contributions, according to the company's Web site.

[faeflora]

That blows.

[heinz]

Trying to imagine what would cause such a large explosion in a recording studio. Maybe a meth lab in the back?

[maks]

"Maybe a meth lab in the back?"

[Berolzheimer]

Originally posted by heinz
Trying to imagine what would cause such a large explosion in a recording studio. Maybe a meth lab in the back?

Knowing BIll, it's more likely he was experimenting with illicit analog tape formulations.

[De chromium cob]

A simple gas leak would do it.....

[faeflora]

ha ha gas "gear aquisition syndrome"

[adamcal]

"had piles of MM-1000 parts lying around"


I bet there are even more parts lying around now.

[Berolzheimer]

I was just looking to see if I could turn this into some sort of joke on the alarm clock thread, & I stumbled across these updates:

Two arrested in California in $12.5M recording studio fire
?May 20, 2006, Burbank, Calif. -- A 19-month investigation into an October 2004 explosion at the International Recording Corp. in Burbank resulted in the arrest of two men on Monday on suspicion of arson and fraud, authorities said. William Schlegel, 59, of Thousand Oaks, and Daniel Medina, 29, of Los Angeles, are charged with sparking a fire that obliterated their recording studio at 75 E. Santa Anita Ave. and showered debris that caused minor damage to vehicles and surrounding properties as far as three blocks away, said Capt. Frank Walbert, an arson investigator for the Fire Department. The men also allegedly filed a fraudulent $12.5-million insurance claim in an attempt to recover losses the fire incurred, he said. Fire Department Capt. Bob Reinhardt and Chief Dave Starr led the investigation that involved Burbank's Police and Fire Departments, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and several forensics specialists, Walbert said.?
Calif. recording studio owners face trial over arson
?September 8, 2006, Burbank, CA -- The co-owners of a Burbank recording studio destroyed by an explosion and fire in October 2004 were ordered Friday to stand trial on arson and insurance fraud charges. William Schlegel and Daniel Medina, co-owners of the International Recording Corp. of Burbank, are blamed for the explosion and fire that destroyed the studio at 75 E. Santa Anita Ave., on Oct. 10, 2004. The blast scattered debris over a three-block area and destroyed the recording facility where the Academy Award-winning "Dances with Wolves" was mixed. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell scheduled arraignment for Sept. 22. Both men are free on $75,000 bail. Schlegel, of Thousand Oaks, and Medina, of Los Angeles, are also charged with filing a $2.5 million false insurance claim for the studio. If convicted of all counts, they could face more than 20 years in prison. The two were arrested in May, after a lengthy investigation by the Burbank Fire Department, which determined that a liquid accelerant was used to spread flames throughout the building. Prosecutors also said a surveillance camera captured a man resembling Schlegel near the studio on the day of the explosion.

[juicylime]

Wow. That's heavy. It's very lucky no one was hurt.

[FFTT]

Let's hope that these guys aren't being falsely accused of arson because the
fire investigators found traces of 100% denatured alcohol spread by the explosion.

It stands to reason that this studio might very well have had a case or two just for
cleaning tape heads and other gear.

[knightsy]

Originally Posted by Berolzheimer

William Schlegel and Daniel Medina, co-owners of the International Recording Corp. of Burbank,

Prosecutors also said a surveillance camera captured a man resembling Schlegel near the studio on the day of the explosion.

You're kidding? Security cameras caught footage of the owner at his own studio?

Reminds me of The Usual Suspects - "We can put you in Queens on the night of the hijacking."

"Really? I live in Queens. You got a team of monkeys working around the clock on this?"

[thenoiseflower]

I dont know about anyone else here, but, I could neeveer hurt my gear...

Let alone explode it, well, I'm sure the explosion was a result of "airtightness" and release of presure. BUT, NO FIRE, PLEASE NO FIRE.

This story is really weird.

[FFTT]

This story should alert other owners on proper storage of any flammable materials

anywhere near a possible source of ignition.

Recently a $6 million dollar home under construction in Great Falls Va. burnt to the ground because the painters had left staining rags soaked with petroleum distillates in a trash can.

They quite literally self ignited.

I'm not sure if the same thing could happen with discarded cleaning materials, but
I would do everything possible to rule out that possibility.