Eruption and Fire result in 4 People Injured At Baytown Refinery

Early Thursday morning, a fire started at ExxonMobil’s refinery in Baytown, about 25 miles east of Houston. Fortunately, the fire has been extinguished and no fatalities occurred.

Four people were injured and taken to the hospital, where they are all reported to be in stable condition.

Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said the fire, which burned for several hours, involved the chemical naphtha, and ExxonMobile is working with authorities to determine exactly what happened to cause the incident. Officials are investigating, but have not yet confirmed reports of an explosion.

What Is Currently Going On At The Facility?

The company says air quality monitoring has not revealed any issues, and no evacuations or shelter-in-place orders have been issued. While everyone on the scene has been accounted for, and crews have managed to put out the fire, there are still a lot of questions.

Flames reportedly broke out in the part of the refinery that produces gasoline. Employees were evacuated from that section, but the rest of the plant is still operating.

Other Recent Incidents

This isn't the first time the refinery has experienced a dangerous blaze. There have been explosions and fires at Exxon's Baytown facility as recently as 2019.

In two separate incidents, area authorities had to implement a shelter-at-home order, and Harris County later sued ExxonMobil for violating federal Clean Air Act rules.

The refinery has about 7,000 employees, and is capable of processing up to 584,000 barrels of crude oil each day.

According to ExxonMobile's Twitter, the company has set up an information line, and is asking anyone affected to call 1-800-241-9010.

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