A fire at a west Tulsa refinery
burned for nearly an hour Tuesday morning before firefighters were able
to bring it under control. It happened at about 10:30 a.m. at the Sunoco
Refinery.
The investigation is still going on as to what caused the fire. But,
we do know it started in a unit about half the size of a basketball court. You could see the bright orange flames and the thick, black smoke
for miles. It all started from a propane unit that takes the oil out of asphalt. The process unit consists of the tower, heaters, pumps,
heat exchangers, coolers all connected with piping,"
They don't know which part
caught fire first. But, it was a mixture of propane and asphalt. Tulsa's
fire department responded. But, Sunoco's own fire brigade attacked it
first. "While we hate to see something like this happen, we certainly
have the appropriate people here to keep things under control,"
says a spokesperson from Sunoco.
Tulsa firefighters staged
and waited until they were called in to help the Sunoco team. "They
train our fire-fighters in types of petroleum-type fires, so we're here
to support them," says Tulsa Fire Captain. They used water to cool
the fire to prevent an explosion. Residents were told to close their
windows. But, the company says the fumes were not dangerous. "There
were no chemicals or toxins or anything being released into the air,"
said the Tulsa Fire Captain.
The unit that caught fire helps make lubricants like 10-40 oil. It makes thousands of barrels a day. But, it looks like production is down
at least for today. There were a handful of workers inside the unit when it caught fire. But, they were evacuated and out of nearly four
hundred employees, none were hurt. Sunoco's Tulsa refinery is the second largest refinery in Oklahoma and has a good safety track record.
The refinery spreads out
over eight hundred acres along the Arkansas River. And, within those
eight hundred acres are highly volatile and combustible processes that
take place. The company has its own fire department on-site that is
trained specifically to handle these types of emergencies. That department
trains other groups and works with the Tulsa Fire Department. Where
there is fire, there is always a risk of explosion. The Tulsa Fire Captain
tells us extra precautions are taken so that doesn't happen. "The
cooling water keeps things cool, so that doesn't happen," he said.
"You then direct your fire fighting effort at the source of the
flames, which you use foam and water mixture actually."
The Tulsa facility has been recognized by Sunoco for its safe practices.
For the past two years, it's been given the Chairman's Award for Excellence. And, in 2003, it had its best safety record in the facility's history.
Reported on the Oklahoma News Channel |
