Refinery Explosion
SAN ANTONIO -- A massive fire that broke out Wednesday morning when an 18-wheeler exploded at a San Antonio fuel refinery was extinguished late this afternoon after sending billowing black smoke into the San Antonio sky for hours.
Two people were confirmed as injured following the blast at AGE Refinery on South Presa. One of the injured people was transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition. The other was treated and released at the scene.
Another person originally listed as missing was found later in the afternoon. That person was not injured. It was reported that he was just out to lunch.
Hazmat workers and firefighters had to shut off multiple valves that had remained open after the blast, San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood told reporters at an early-afternoon news conference.
The storage and distribution system of the refinery includes a tank farm of 162 tanks ranging in capacity from 40 to 10,000 barrels, two additive blend systems, a tank car loading facility and two transport loading systems.
Firefighters created a half-mile evacuation zone around the fire, Hood said. He also indicated that the current firefighter command post would be shifted to another location because shifting winds soon will bring the black plume of smoke over the area.
Officials were allowing nearby residents back in their homes at about 4 p.m.
More than 100 firefighters and scores of police officers were at the scene and in the surrounding perimeter, Hood said.
He warned people with respiratory issues to remain indoors to try to avoid exposure to the smoke.
Loud explosions could be heard at the Radiance Academy, a charter school on the corner of South Presa and Military. Marcus Burgos works at the school and quickly had to evacuate 120 students.
"The lights went out just as we were lining the children up to take them out," Burgos said. "Fortunately we have monthly fire drills and because of that practice everyone was able to get them out safely.”
AGE Refining Inc. refines several specialized petroleum products, including jet fuel and diesel. The company was founded in 1991.
