Fire at Philadelphia refinery injures one

July 1, 2000
Web posted at: 4:20 a.m. EDT (0820 GMT)

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- City firefighters and in-house crews on Friday battled a major blaze at the Sunoco, Inc. refinery on Philadelphia's South Side.

A refinery worker was slightly injured as he helped fight the fire, but was treated at the scene, company officials said.

The fire began around 7:36 p.m. when hydrogen began leaking from a ruptured pipeline, according to Sunoco spokesman Jerry Davis.

Video shot from a helicopter showed bright orange flames shooting into the air, as black smoke billowed around the streams of water sprayed by fire trucks on the scene. The smoke forced the closure of the Schuylkill Expressway for almost two hours.

The fire was brought under control around 9:30 p.m., but firefighters remained on the scene to let escaping vapors burn themselves out, Davis said.

"We have already begun an investigation to see what happened, to see if we can prevent it from happening again," Davis said.

According to the company's Web site, the plant processes 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day, transforming it into gasoline, aviation fuel, kerosene, heating oil, propane and butane.

The refinery also produces the chemical cumene, which is used to manufacture plastics and synthetics.

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Sunoco Facilities: Philadelphia Refinery
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
Philadelpia City Government
Schuylkill Expressway (I-76)

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