Incident Report

Subject:                   US - Fire Rages After Pipeline Explodes in Milford West Texas

Date of Email report:   Thu 14/11/2013

Report Detail:

A fire is raging near the southern Ellis County town of Milford after a Chevron pipeline carrying liquid petroleum gas exploded Thursday morning, prompting a town-wide evacuation. According to county officials, crews were drilling at the site southeast of Milford along Cosby Road when a 10-inch pipeline was punctured and exploded.   Chevron said a crew was excavating at the site when the line was somehow ruptured.  Five workers were at the scene and were evacuated without injury. At about 2:30 p.m., in an updated statement, the company said the flow in the pipeline has been shut off:

At approximately 9.30 a.m. (CST) today there was an incident at the Chevron-operated West Texas LPG system near Milford, Texas. A crew was performing excavation activities at the site when a rupture in the line was reported. Five workers at the site were immediately evacuated. Allemployees are accounted for and there are no reported injuries. Chevron has initiated its emergency response procedures and is working with the appropriate local, state agencies and emergency response organizations to assess the current situation and respond to the incident.

The flow of product in the pipeline has been shut-off and residual burn continues. There is an adjacent Chevron owned 14” LPG pipeline that the company is currently monitoring. Chevron and emergency response organizations are activelymonitoring the incident and taking every precaution to contain and ultimately extinguish the fire. Chevron's primary concern is to ensure the safety of the surrounding community and our employees. Chevron will continue working with the community and its leaders to identify and respond to their needs.

The Chevron site is in a rural area with no nearby structures that have been either threatened or damaged, however there are several vehicles and at the site that have been destroyed by the explosion and fire.  Fire-fighters from neighbouring cities were called in to assist battling the fire, but officials decided it was safer to simply let the contained fire burn out.  Officials said late Thursday morning that it may take up to 24 hours for that to happen and to cap the line. Meanwhile, roughly 200 students in the Milford Independent School District were evacuated as a precaution and taken to nearby Italy. The district has cancelled classes for Friday. Lt. James Saulter with the Milford Police Department said the town's 800 residents were also being evacuated. 

Saulter did not know how long the evacuation order would remain in effect.  Officials are checking additional pipelines in the area to determine if they are at risk of exploding.
Shortly after the blast was reported, Chopper 5 was dispatched to the scene.  Once airborne, a massive plume of smoke was visible stretching across the horizon from about 40 miles away. From 20 miles away, flames shooting into the air were clearly visible, according to Chopper 5 photojournalist Ames Meyer. The smoke plume is blowing to the northwest, toward Milford and I-35E. The Texas Department of Transportation is assisting in the area by detouring traffic to I-35E and closing several roads in the area. 

The Texas Railroad Commission said an inspector has been dispatched to the area, but that the pipeline is a federally-regulated interstate pipeline "and falls under the jurisdiction of the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). Representatives of PHMSA are in route from Houston, and Commission staff will remain on location until their arrival to provide continued support as needed."

Emergency response personnel with the Environmental Protection Agency are assisting with the response efforts to determine environmental effects of the explosion and provide additional support as requested. The Ellis County Fire Marshal's Office said they were not aware of any previous incidents at the site.  Milford is a small town along Interstate 35E, northeast of Hillsboro in southern Ellis County.  It is about 50 miles south of Dallas.

Additional Documentation: