By Jerald Jimenez
Aug 25, 2023, 16:47 PM EDT
Authorities in Garyville, Louisiana, ordered the immediate evacuation of a group of residents within a two-mile radius of a refinery storage tank fire, according to the Marathon Petroleum Corporation.
Through a statement, the company reported that the fire is currently contained on the refinery property, which is located about 40 miles west of New Orleans, with no reports of injuries at this time.
Marathon human resources manager Justin Lawrence told a news conference Friday, “The tank itself is not on fire,” adding that the fire is around the perimeter of a tank.
“The product in the tank is a naphtha product, which is a partially refined product, that we use as … components to make gasoline,” Lawrence said.
Likewise, Lawrence specified that the fire is not in the tank, but around the perimeter where the gasoline is accumulated, which at first was a kind of lazy flame, and explained that they put foam on it to keep the vapors and the fire low to keep it contained.
“As it picks up and this morning, as the day gets hotter, it has flared up and there have been spots where it’s harder to control,” Lawrence added. “The focus is now on “putting out the fire as quickly as possible”
The Marathon company issued a statement that the top priority is to ensure the safety of its employees and new neighbors in the community, and noted that an investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the release.
With information from CNN