Texas crude oil tank blast and fire
27 February 2012
A crude oil tank exploded on the northern waterfront in Galveston, Texas, with 35 firefighters attending the resulting blaze. A second oil storage tank caught fire and four workers and a firefighter were reported affected by smoke inhalation and heat stress.
The oil tank explosion caused a shock wave that shook windows three miles away
The February 23 explosion caused a shock wave that shook windows three miles away, according to local reports. The fire was brought under control the following day.
About 8,000 gallons of light crude oil burned during the fire, with firefighters impeded by four malfunctioning hydrants, which had apparently been damaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday, Galveston Fire Marshal Gilbert Robinson said.
The fire was at Texas International Terminals, a facility catering to deep-draft vessels with the capacity to handle 1.25 million barrels of liquid cargo storage and 350,000 tons of dry flat storage.