PHILADELPHIA _ A series of explosions and a massive fire ripped through a South Philadelphia oil refinery early Friday, injuring five workers.
Firefighters contained the blaze at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) within a couple hours, but it is still burning and has not yet been declared under control.
Preliminary testing at the refinery "found no ambient carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons (combustibles), or hydrogen sulfides," according to the city Office of Emergency Management, which is awaiting results from additional air pollution testing from the Air Management Services lab.
The workers suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene, according to PES and the city.
Officials lifted a shelter-in-place request for residents in the immediate area and reopened the Platt Bridge, which was closed after the explosions.
"Those who live and work in close proximity to the refinery and all Philadelphians have our word _ we are firmly committed to ensuring the safe operation of the refinery, and the safety of those in its vicinity," Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Friday.
Meanwhile, wholesale gasoline prices surged 3.7% Friday in New York on speculation that the PES outage might curtail regional fuel supplies. PES can process 335,000 barrels of crude oil a day, about 14 million gallons.
The blast was reported about 4 a.m. and arriving firefighters found PES refining complex firefighters battling the blaze, Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said.
A propane tank caused the fire, said Cosmo Servidio, Environmental Protection Agency head for Mid-Atlantic, who also said "no other tanks were affected."
The fire quickly escalated to a third alarm.
"We have not determined the product that was burning, but we believe it was mostly propane," PES said in a statement. Earlier in the day, Murphy said butane was thought to be feeding the fire.
PES said there were three separate explosions that "impacted" a unit that produces alkylate, which is used to boost gasoline octane.
The refinery complex has two alkylation units, and the Girard Point unit that appears to have been involved in the conflagration uses deadly hydrofluoric acid as a catalyst. HF releases have been implicated in several dangerous refinery incidents, including a 2009 release at the South Philadelphia refinery that sent 13 contract workers to the hospital.
The refinery did not respond to questions about whether any hydrofluoric acid was released in Friday's accident.
The cause of the explosions is not yet known.
"The Fire Marshal's Office will investigate the cause and origin of the fire once the incident is over and the scene is safe to enter. But the investigation will take time. For now, this remains a dynamic situation," Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said Friday afternoon.
All employees at the plant when the blast occurred have been accounted for, PES said.
Locator map of the explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philadelphia
An "emergency response plan" was activated at the refining complex after the explosion, and responders from the company, as well as the Philadelphia Fire Department, were on the scene, said Cherice Corley, a PES spokesperson. Philadelphia police handled road closures.
The fire department supported the refinery team's operations, Murphy said, keeping the fire contained to the alkylation unit and cooling surrounding pipes and tanks with water. He said 120 Philadelphia firefighters and 51 pieces of equipment were involved in the operation.
"It is standard practice when fighting a fire of this type to let the flammable gases burn away in a controlled fashion," Thiel said.
The refinery was the scene of a smaller fire that PES said was quickly contained on June 10. There were no injuries in that incident.
Kenney said in a statement that he spoke Friday with PES leadership, as well as the fire department and Managing Director's Office, and "was assured that the two incidents are unrelated in their nature and cause" and was informed of the speed that notifications went to nearby residents.
"Still, I believe that there is room for improvement, both in the operation of the refinery in light of two fires in as many weeks, and in the communication to residents," he said.
Thiel and Managing Director Brian Abernathy will convene a working group with PES leadership and members of its Community Advisory Panel.
"A particular focus will be ensuring that air quality questions during such incidents are addressed immediately and communicated effectively to residents," Kenney said.
The EPA worked with the state and city to set up "fence line" air monitors "along the perimeter" of the refinery and possibly in the community to keep a check on air quality, Servidio said.
Monitoring produced normal readings for explosives, carbon monoxide, oxygen and hydrogen sulfide, a dangerous gas, the company said.
"The Health Department has no findings that would point to any immediate danger in the surrounding community at this time, and the City is NOT recommending evacuation or shelter-in-place," spokesman James Garrow said in a statement.
Winds from the southwest at about 5 mph blew smoke in the direction of the Walt Whitman Bridge, toward Camden and Gloucester City in New Jersey.
Samples from up- and down-wind of the refinery were taken to the Air Management Service Laboratory to be tested for air pollutants, Garrow said. Results of those tests are expected to be released Friday.
