An explosion at the BP refinery in Ohio was reported on Tuesday evening, and local media reports say multiple people have been injured in the incident. The Oregon Fire Department was responding to the blaze.
City officials have not confirmed any casualties so far, local media reported that at least two people had severe burns on their bodies. The nature of the fire is still unknown.
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Videos shared on social media show thick, black-coloured clouds of smoke rising from the BP refinery in Ohio. The Husky-Toledo Refinery is located in the city of Oregon, just miles away from Toldeo.
“The entire refinery team is focused on safe operations”, the Husky-Toledo branch of the oil giant says in a brochure. It employees more than 840 people.
According to reports from WTOL11, the BP refinery located on Cedar Point Road has been active for more than 100 years. It has the capacity to process more than 155,000 barrels of crude per day, which roughly translates to 3.8 million gallons of gas. The refinery’s campus is spread over 585 acres.
The BP refinery, or British Petroleum, processes gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, diesel fuels, jet fuel, propane, propylene, flue gases, kerosene, sulfur, heating oil and asphalt.
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Andrew Laurell, an official from the Lucas County 911 Regional Council of Governments, said that the cause of the fire is yet to be determined. The council member informed that the first 911 call related to the incident came around 6:50 PM on Tuesday evening.
“Our highest priority remains the safety of our staff, the responders and the public”, a spokesperson of BP refinery said. The company was working with fire officials to extinguish the blaze.
This is a breaking news update. More to follow.