Fire spreads to 8th tank at Texas Deer Park facility
DEER PARK, Texas (FOX 26) - After three days, company officials say all of the tank fires at the Intercontinental Terminals Company Deer Park facility have finally been extinguished.
Firefighters were forced to spray foam during a flare-up of flames and black smoke early on Wednesday evening.
According to ITC, firefighting crews report all of the tank fires are out as of 3 a.m. Wednesday. ITC says crews will continue to spray foam and water to facilitate cooling and prevent reigniting. Steam and smoke may still be visible and the possibility of reigniting exists, ITC says.
All three of the Port of Houston fire boats were used to pump water directly from the ship channel, providing water to the countless fire units responding to the flames. In the end, no major injuries were reported.
ITC officials are updating the numbers on Wednesday, and they say 11 tanks were burned in total. The tanks contained components of gasoline, including pygas, xylene, naphtha, a gas blend, and base oil.
Firefighters were ultimately able to prevent four tanks from catching fire, including one containing toluene, despite having to reduce water pressure Monday which caused the fire to spread.
With the fire now out, school will be back in session on Thursday for the districts that canceled classes due to the fire. Those included Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte, Galena Park, Sheldon and San Jacinto College.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo released an update Wednesday morning saying there will be continuous air monitoring as clean-up operations begin:
In a 1 p.m. Wednesday update, Harris County Public Health said the current health risk remains low for the general population and those who may be more at risk. The public can view air quality data at www.readyharris.org/deerparkfire.
Officials encourage anyone who believes they may be suffering health symptoms due to the fire to contact their health care provider.
ITC says no serious injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
In a Wednesday morning update, ITC also said, in part, "We continue to prioritize the safety of our surrounding community, our employees and the environment."
The fire at the ITC Deer Park facility began around 10:22 a.m. Sunday. For three days, firefighting crews used foam and water to battle the fires.
An air emission event report released on Tuesday evening states the cause of the fire as a leak.
During a press conference on Tuesday at 4 p.m., ITC confirmed that eight tanks total were still on fire. On Tuesday night, Harris County announced that fire was down to four tanks.
The fire spread overnight on Monday, after firefighters lost some water pressure Monday evening. The water pressure was restored, and firefighters worked to protect the final three tanks from catching fire.
Two of the new tanks that caught fire on Monday contain pyrolysis gasoline, or pygas. An additional 2 tanks that were empty from the start collapsed under the heat of the fire.
The Houston Health Department is conducting air monitoring in neighborhoods near the Deer Park fire. Anyone who is unusually sensitive to air pollution should be aware that they may be at moderate risk for health complications, according to the EPA Air Quality Index.
On Tuesday, the City of Deer Park assured no evacuations or new shelter-in-place orders were issued for the city. The City of Deer Park released this update:
Harris County Public Health released this statement on Monday:
Harris County has launched an air quality data web page to provide air quality information related to the Deer Park fire. The following statement was released on Monday evening:
In addition, ITC has established a claims hotline and website for businesses and individuals following the fire incident. If you believe you have suffered damage or loss as a result of the incident, you can go to www.itcclaims.com. Submit the claim form and supporting documents to the following email address: incidents31719@itcclaims.com or to the following physical address:
City officials lifted the shelter in place for Deer Park on Monday morning. Deer Park officials said the city "received confirmation that no air quality readings conducted in response to the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) incident have exceeded action levels."
State Highway 225 has been reopened. Portions of Independence Parkway remain closed.
The Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) started in 1972 and currently has 13.1 million barrels capacity in 242 tanks. It stores a variety of petrochemical liquids and gases, as well as fuel oil, bunker oil and distillates. The terminal has five ship docks and ten barge docks, rail and truck access, as well as multiple pipeline connection.