U.S. crews extinguish fire at Washington state refinery

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fire crews extinguished a large blaze at the Cherry Point refinery on Friday, Feb 17 afternoon, after huge plumes of smoke and flames several storeys high poured out of the largest refinery in Washington state, said owner BP Plc.

The fire was in a tower on the south side of the refinery in Ferndale, about 160 km north of Seattle, according to images on local television.

BP spokesman Scott Dean said the refinery, which can process 225,000 barrels of crude oil a day, was still operating after the blaze. BP has not identified which unit was involved in the blaze.

BP has accounted for all workers, Dean said. One worker was taken to a local hospital for observation following a minor injury.

The fire broke out at about 2:30 p.m. local time (2230 GMT) and was extinguished an hour and a half later, Dean said. The refinery has its own fire crews but requested the aid of surrounding fire departments, including Whatcom County Fire District 7 in Ferndale, Reuters reported.