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LAS VEGAS — Three employees of a Las Vegas hobby rocket company and three firefighters were treated for burns and smoke inhalation after a warehouse explosion just after noon Monday. 

A 65-year-old man and a 24-year-old man were reported in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns, while a 52-year-old man was in fair condition with first- and second-degree burns, a University Medical Center spokesman said. 

“The three male firefighters were treated and released for smoke inhalation,” said hospital spokesman Rick Plummer. 

Employees working next to AeroTech Inc. reported hearing two explosions come from one of the rocket company’s warehouses, Las Vegas fire spokesman Steve La-Sky said. 

“People in the auto shop next door said the first explosion rocked the building and cracked their wall,” he said. “They said they ran out of the building after the first explosion.” 

That’s when La-Sky said the second and larger of the explosions created a 100-foot fire ball. 

“It’s amazing we have no fatalities,” he said. 

Three AeroTech employees who were originally reported missing were found, La-Sky said. Two were burn victims and the third was uninjured. 

About 50 firefighters and 12 units put out the three-alarm blaze by 1 p.m., La-Sky said. But by late afternoon, the fire reignited and firefighters remained on the scene waiting for the fire to burn itself out after failing to contain with water using ladders. 

About 2,500 pounds of ammonium perchlorate, a powder form of a chemical used in rocket fuel, and about 800 pounds of magnesium were stored in AeroTech’s warehouse making it too dangerous for fire crews to fight the blaze from the ground, La-Sky said. 

Authorities began evacuating residents living within a one-mile radius of the burning warehouse after 6 p.m because of the hazardous chemicals. 

Fire investigators were trying to determine the cause of the fires and the amount of damages, La-Sky said. 

It was the second workplace explosion to rock the state in a month and it renewed calls for strict oversight of companies handling hazardous materials. 

On Sept. 17, a series of explosions at Depressurized Technologies International, an aerosol recycling plant in Minden, left one man dead and four others hospitalized. 

Workers’ rights groups say earlier reforms involving businesses dealing with hazardous materials are not being taken seriously. 

State regulatory changes made after two deadly blasts in 1998 seem to have been forgotten, said Tom Stoneburner, director of Reno-based Alliance for Workers’ Rights. 

“We’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and get it right,” he said. “We can’t keep exposing our workers to these kinds of things when we send our families off to work every day.” 

In 1998, an explosion at Sierra Chemical, an explosives manufacturing plant east of Reno, killed four workers and injured six, while the another explosion at Pacific Engineering and Production Co. in Henderson, killed two people and injured more than 300. 

“We thought we had fixed it (through legislation),” Stoneburner said. “Then along comes the blast at DTI in Minden.” 

Stoneburner’s group is part of a coalition that has asked Gov. Kenny Guinn to establish a commission to investigate workplace safety. 

Michael Hillerby, the governor’s deputy chief of staff, said a commission wasn’t necessary. 

“We have very good laws that protect workers,” he said. “Anytime anything happens it encourages all the parties involved to take a closer look, but a commission isn’t a magic bullet to make things better. Accidents, sadly, are going to happen.” 

According to its Web site, AeroTech is the largest supplier of technically advanced rocket motors for the hobby rocket market. 

The company also produces rocket motors for the motion picture special effects industry that have been featured in films including “Star Trek: Generations” and “Tomorrow Never Dies.”