ExxonMobil reports Beaumont propylene unit fire
3/30/2015 12:00:00 AM
An overnight fire at the ExxonMobil Chemical plant in Beaumont, Texas, was extinguished by about 5:45 a.m. on Monday morning, according to local news sources.
The fire in a propylene unit forced the company to shut down the entire chemical plant, according to sources at Beaumont's CBS television affiliate KFDM. The cause of the fire has not yet been disclosed.
Workers had been fighting the fire since about midnight Monday.Exxon spokesman Lee Dula said in a statement that there were no injuries and that all workers have been accounted for.
"What we know at this time is that there was a vapor release around 12 a.m. from a propylene line and that is what combusted," said Dula.
The plant employees about 425 workers and 500 contractors.
"Ongoing air monitoring continues to indicate no impact to the community at this time," Dula said in a statement. "All our personnel should report for their scheduled shift and check in with their supervisors. Our response is ongoing. Safety is our core value and we are responding in the safest and most orderly manner possible."
A KFDM photographer at the plate said he watched about 15 workers leave the plant in their vehicles.
Dula says ExxonMobil is moving workers away from the affected propylene unit out of an aboundance of caution.
Beaumont Fire officials were staging at the fire station inside the ExxonMobil Chemical plant while workers at the plant responded to the fire, the report says. But by 2:45 a.m., fire units were at back at the main gate while ExxonMobil's internal workers were fighting the fire.
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