No injuries in Port Arthur refinery fire today
Beaumont Enterprise Oct. 13, 2009, 1:31PMA fire at the Total refinery in Port Arthur this morning began after a restart of the plant because of an overnight power outage, according to a regulatory filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
The causes of both the power outage and the fire are being investigated, the filing stated. No injuries were reported. A news release from Total communications intern Tracie Gibbs said the partial power interruption was internal.
The fire was reported shortly before 8 a.m., Gibbs said. By 11:30 a.m., Total’s internal fire brigade had finished putting out the fire, all personnel had been accounted for and appropriate notifications had been made.
The fire started at a heavy oil line between the crude unit and the tank farm, Avery said.
Investigators with TCEQ are monitoring the site for air quality and to make sure the refinery handles the runoff from fighting the fire properly, said agency spokeswoman Andrea Morrow.
Monitoring equipment had no hits for air quality alerts, and there are no odors, she said. The wind is blowing away from populated areas.
“Preliminary indications are good,” Morrow said.
According to Total, the plant at the intersection of FM 366 and 32nd Street in Port Arthur has a daily refining capacity of 174,000 barrels of oil.
