Perilous
Times
Massive inferno as fire breaks out at Washington State oil
refinery
AP
February 18, 2012 6:02PM
US fire crews work to doused an intense inferno that broke out at
Washington's largest oil refinery, sending up huge waves of
towering flames and creating a thick plume of black smoke.
Workers at the BP Cherry Point refinery near Blaine in northwest
Washington's Whatcom County were evacuated shortly after the fire
started at about 2:30pm in a tower on the refinery's south side.
The Bellingham Herald reported that about 100 evacuated workers
gathered in a parking lot to watch the flames.
All employees and contractors who were at the site were safe and
accounted for, Dean said, although he could not provide a precise
figure last night (today AEDT).
Dean couldn't say what the tower is normally used for or what it
contained.
Television footage showed fire crews sending massive streams of
water onto the fire and also using retardant foam to douse the
flames.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire or the extent
of damage.
The refinery continues to produce products for customers, Dean
said, adding it was "too soon to speculate on future supply
impacts".
The refinery employs more than 800 people and can process as much
as 230,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alaska.
From that amount, the refinery has the ability to produce 2.5
million gallons of jet fuel, 3.5 million gallons of petrol, 2.2
million gallons of diesel, 360,000 gallons of butane and 140,000
gallons of propane.
According to the BP website, the refinery is the largest supplier
of fuel for the Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver, British
Columbia, airports.
It also provides 20 per cent of Washington state's gasoline, the
website said.
The refinery was fined more than $US69,000 ($A64,400) in 2010 for
13 serious safety violations, state Department of Labor and
Industries spokesman Hector Castro said.
He added that all five of the state's refineries have been fined
for safety regulations.
Inspectors were heading to Cherry Point to investigate the fire .