Blast at oil refinery was ‘firewall’

SEATTLE – Workers who died in a Washington state oil refinery blast were engulfed in a “firewall,” a lead federal investigator said Monday.

There is “indication of a very sudden release of hydrocarbon that ignited very quickly,” said Robert Hall, investigations supervisor for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board. “The individuals didn’t stand a chance; it ignited within a second.”

State and federal investigators have descended on the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle, to seek answers in Friday’s blast. Hall said his agency’s investigation will take months to complete.

Three workers died at the refinery, while two died at a hospital in Seattle. Two survivors remain at Harborview Medical Center – Lew Janz is in critical condition, while Matt Gumbel was upgraded to serious condition Monday. Both men are in the intensive care unit with burns.

It was the deadliest incident at a U.S. refinery since 15 people died at a BP facility in Texas, Hall said.

Hall said his agency is concerned about the high rate of incidents at refineries. He estimated 5 percent of all refineries in the country have had significant issues in the last two years. There are 150 refineries in the country, according to the agency.

Hall said the agency is investigating incidents at seven refineries at the moment.

“We want to get to the root causes of these incidents,” he said.

In Anacortes, Hall said they have done an initial tour of the damaged area. The agency will also acquire computer data of the plant’s operations from Tesoro, as well as deconstruct parts of the plant to conduct tests. His agency will also look at work fatigue and other details.

He described the fire as more of a “firewall,” adding that some of the crew were probably within 50 feet of where the blaze started.

Last week, the company said employees were doing maintenance work on a unit that processes highly flammable liquid derived during the refining process.

The state fined the San Antonio-based company $85,700 last April for 17 serious safety and health violations, defined as those with potential to cause death or serious physical injury. The fine was lowered in a settlement with the company, which required Tesoro to correct hazards and hire a third-party consultant to do a safety audit.

Killed were Matthew C. Bowen, 31, of Arlington; Darrin J. Hoines, 43, of Ferndale; Daniel J. Aldridge, 50, of Anacortes; Kathryn Powell, 29, of Burlington, and Donna Van Dreumel, 36, of Oak Harbor.