It began as a small fire in a drying room at the Pacific Engineering & Production Co. of Nevada, a rocket-fuel plant in Henderson. But the blaze spread so swiftly that company fire crews dropped their hoses and sprinted for the exits, followed by most of the 74-man work force. Within minutes, the flames reached containers of highly combustible sodium perchlorate and other chemicals, and four explosions hurled fireballs and toxic black plumes skyward. A concussion measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale flipped over cars and shattered thousands of windows in the Las Vegas area. Although 350 people were treated for...
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