Solus Sued for RSM Plant Explosion Deaths

A Rancho Santa Margarita sprocket company whose water heater exploded in March 2009, killing two, now faces a lawsuit from the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The D.A. says Solus officials "knowingly operated an unsafe work environment" when they installed a cheap residential water heater to melt plastic.

Solus, a subsidiary of Emerson Power Transmission Corporation, moved from Pennsylvania to RSM in 2007. The D.A. accuses the company of throwing away a commercial boiler to avoid permit and installation costs.

Instead, says the D.A., Solus officials bought a cheap residential water heater, then rigged the heater to operate at heats higher than intended.

"When the residential water heater was unable to heat to the necessary levels for plastic melting, the defendants are accused of, among other things, removing the automatic safety shut-off protection and installing a new temperature control device to force the heater to work at dangerous levels above its capacity," according to a D.A. statement.

When the water heater exploded, it shot through the roof of the factory. Two men, Jose Jimenez, 51, of Garden Grove, and Isidro Echeverria, 34, of Oceanside, were killed in the blast. One was decapitated, according to the D.A.

The business never reopened in Orange County.

In addition to the civil suit, two men face criminal charges relating to the accident. Carl Edward Richardson and Roy Thomas Faulkinbury both pled not guilty to two felonies, and their trial date is still being determined.

People with additional information regarding this case and former employees of the defendants are asked to call Supervising District Attorney Investigator Rick Morton at (949) 975-8127.