Poway explosion probe continues

Authorities said they’re continuing to investigate an explosion at a Poway research and development test facility Wednesday that injured four people, none of them seriously.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Quantum Energy Storage’s chief executive officer, Tien Nguyen, said that whatever went wrong at the site was a mechanical issue — not a problem connected to the kinetic energy storage prototype being tested at the company’s research and development lab.

“It is unfortunate but we will continue to make sure this incident never happens again,” Nguyen said. “We will make assessments and take corrective actions.”

He said the company is now thinking about moving its R&D facility to a “more remote location.”

Three of the company’s employees suffered scratches in the blast, while a fourth broke an ankle. The explosion shook the western part of the Poway Business Park, buckled doors, blasted a whole in the roof, and sent workers in nearby buildings running outside in fear.

Poway City Manger Dan Singer said the 13,994-square-foot building, home to four separate businesses, has now been declared structurally unsound. Metal inside the cement walls has been compromised and engineers are trying to devise temporary measures to secure the walls.

The exact cause of the explosion is not yet known, but is linked to a kinetic energy device that was being tested six feet below ground, but was uncovered, Nguyen said.

Although he declined to give specifics about the prototype, Nguyen said the device consisted of a spinning flywheel. The rotor, or flywheel, was not damaged in the explosion leading company officials to believe it was a mechanical failure that was responsible.

Sheriff’s Department Spokeswoman Jan Caldwell said the testing was being monitored by machines and humans at the time of the blast. She said officials were told there were no indications of a problem before the explosion.

Caldwell said Thursday that investigators with the department’s Bomb and Arson unit are wrapping up their investigation – partly by reviewing video of the blast – and expect to hand the case to the state’s Occupational Health & Safety Administration soon, having determined that it was indeed only an accident and that no foul play was involved.

Poway officials said the company has government contracts to develop alternative energy devices. Nguyen, however, was vague about who the company does business with.

Meanwhile, the other tenants of the building on Gregg Street between Community Road and Tech Center Drive, which include warehouses for a motorcycle exporting business and a bakery, as well as a home and garden lighting company, can’t go inside.

Josh Sullivan, one of six co-owners of Fire Dragon Brothers, which exports motorcycles and motorcycle parts from China, said those who work at the site consider themselves lucky.

The warehouse is located within the building directly next to the Quantum Energy research lab, but nobody was working at Fire Dragon on Wednesday afternoon.

“Usually there’s four of us there,” Sullivan said.

He said he tried to see what kind of damage had been done to the company’s inventory but hasn’t been allowed in the building.

At the front of the building is another warehouse for a commercial bakery.

Jean’s Posh Pantry’s ovens and headquarters are several blocks away but all of the ingredients and packaging needed for the business are stored in the warehouse. Two of the bakery’s workers were loading a truck at the time of the blast. Neither were hurt.

The bakery is trying to work around the warehouse closure, said owner Sharon Malkoff.

“It’s been very inconvenient for us,” she said, adding that authorities have let them briefly go into the building a couple times since the blast to remove needed items.

Nguyen read from a prepared statement during part of the new conference, saying:

“As a proud member of the Poway community, our primary concern is employee and community safety. We will thoroughly investigate the R&D incident and be working with public safety agencies. I apologize for any disruption to our supportive local community and thank the City of Poway and local safety personnel for their rapid response and support.”

He said Quantum was founded in 2013 with a mission “to improve the world by creating a complete alternative energy solution not dependent on fossil fuels for power generation.” He said Quantum’s technology stores renewable energy produced by solar and wind farms, “and becomes a large-scale energy source at night and when the wind doesn’t blow.”