Dozens hurt in Exxon fire near Houston; shelter in place canceled, Baytown officials say
Dozens of people were injured Wednesday when a fire broke out at an Exxon oil refinery near Houston, Texas, the company said.
Exxon said teams were still working to extinguish the fire in the Baytown Olefins Plant, according to a tweet about 1:40 p.m.. A company official said 37 people were hurt, according to a KTRK broadcast of a news conference. Their injuries were minor and not considered to be life-threatening, the official said at the news conference.
A shelter-in-place order was canceled shortly after 3 p.m., Baytown officials said. Air monitoring did not detect “any levels of concern,” the city said in a tweet.
“We have seen no adverse environmental effects,” plant manager Jason Duncan said during the news conference.
According to Exxon, the unit on fire processes “light hydrocarbons including propane and propylene,” the tweet said.
The company said it’s cooperating with regulatory agencies and regrets the incident.
“We deeply regret any disruption or inconvenience that this incident may have caused the community,” Exxon said on Twitter.
Three people who suffered minor injuries were able to drive themselves to the hospital, according to KHOU.
“Three people drove themselves to local clinics for burn injuries. Officers were unsure if these people were workers or civilians and did not know if their injuries were serious,” the station reports.
Residents on social media reported feeling the neighborhood shake and rattle like a “Mac truck” driving down the road, while another frantically called a family member in the area only to find out she slept through it.
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Dozens hurt in Exxon fire near Houston; shelter in place canceled, Baytown officials say."
