Chemical Naphtha Involved In Houston ExxonMobil Fire: HCFMO

Houston TX

23 December, 2021

9:43 AM

Description

BAYTOWN, TX — The chemical naphtha was involved in an explosion and subsequent fire at an ExxonMobil refinery that injured four in Baytown early Thursday. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the incident. Naphtha, a chemical found in gasoline, was involved in the incident, an HCFMO spokesperson confirmed to Patch. The blaze went into daylight hours but was extinguished, according to the company. ExxonMobil emergency response teams put out the blaze, which lasted about eight hours, around 9 a.m. The explosion occurred at approximately 1 a.m. Thursday, according to a statement from ExxonMobil. No adverse effects have been found through air quality monitoring at the facility, and no shelter in place has been ordered, the company added. "We deeply regret any disruption or inconvenience that this incident may have caused the community," ExxonMobil said in the statement on social media. Of the four confirmed injuries, three were life flighted to a hospital and one was taken by an ambulance, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said. They were taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital Downtown, according to the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office. The explosion was felt by many in the Baytown area. "I live right behind the plant, and it shook my house," one Facebook user from Baytown said. The incident has the attention of the Biden Administration as a White House official told FOX Business reporter Edward Lawrence the White House is "closely monitoring the situation" and the Department of Labor is in contact with ExxonMobil about the situation.