TACOMA, Wash. — Firefighters were called to an oil refinery at the Port of Tacoma where crude oil was burning in a processing stack, sending smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
Quick Facts:
- Fire broke out 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at U.S. Oil Refinery, Tacoma
- Crude oil was burning in a processing stack
- No way to put out fire, so it had to burn out
- No one was hurt. Plant shut down during investigation into cause
The fire at the U.S. Oil Refinery at 3001 Marshall Ave. broke out about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Flames were seen shooting out of the top of the stack as thick black smoke climbed into the sky.
Dan Yoder, the plant manager, said the workers followed emergency protocol, which was to not call 911 immediately.
“They knew how to shut the valves off right away. They were working on establishing a water supply,” said Joe Meinecke with Tacoma fire.
But 30 minutes later, it went from a small heater fire to a chimney stack filled with flaming crude oil.
“Many times you can put the fire out and shut the unit down without ever having to use fire or water or anything like that,” said Yoder.
It was Impossible to put the flames out, so firefighters sprayed water on the stack to keep it cool to lessen the chance of it collapsing.
The company refines roughly 35,000 barrels of crude oil every day to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and asphalt for local customers.
The plant will be shut down for days for an investigation and repairs.
The company said gas prices will not increase as a result of the fire.
“The product will get supplied from someone else and the real impact will be to us because we won't be in operation. I don't see it impacting the consumers at all,” said Yoder.
The Tacoma Fire Department was complimentary of the work crew at the plant.
The fire department trains with the company annually for such emergencies and fire officials say it was a perfect response to a situation that could have been a lot worse.
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