Posted: 12/24/2009 2:14:00 PM EDT
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[There is a big fire at the refinery in town.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/article_58389e92-f0db-11de-853f-001cc4c002e0.html 4p.m. update: Fire crews are responding to a blaze in a fuel storage tank at the ConocoPhillips refinery, 401 S. 23rd St. The top of the tank has collapsed and the fire is burning down the side of the structure, witnesses said. The tank is between the refinery and Interstate 90. At 3:45 p.m., fire crews were spraying water onto surrounding fuel tanks to keep them cool, said a witness. The fire was reported about 3:30 p.m. as a fire at a coker unit at the refinery. An alarm began going off at the refinery at 3:45 p.m. It repeats “coker fire.” The fire is sending thick, black smoke and debris into the air over the South Side and downtown. Traffic on Interstate 90 was crawling as drivers slowed down to look at the fire. Some stopped to take photos. The occupants of a house near the refinery said they did not hear any explosion or other noise. “It was about 20 minutes ago, we were standing outside smoking and heard the alarm and heard someone say cooker fire over the intercom. We noticed a really tall black cloud going up. One of the girls said look at that bird, but it wasn’t a bird. It wasn’t a bird, there little black pieces,” said Kristin Smith, a desk clerk at the nearby War Bonnett Inn. Two Billings Fire Department engines and a battalion chief entered the refinery grounds, but three other Fire Department engines are on standby about a block outside the main entrance at South 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue South. Firefighters with those engines did not have any details. The Billings Fire Department has also paged a standby crew. No one has left the refinery, and no one is visible inside the refinery gates. Initial report: Fire crews are responding to a blaze in a fuel storage tank at the ConocoPhillips refinery, 401 S. 23rd St. The top of the tank has collapsed and the fire is burning down the side of the structure, witnesses said. The tank is between the refinery and Interstate 90. Traffic on the highway is backed up as motorists stop to look at the fire. Some were taking photos of the blaze and plume of black smoke. Fire crews responded about 3:30 p.m. to reports of a fire at a coker unit at the refinery. More information will be posted here as details are available. |