OREGON, Ohio — On Tuesday night, a fire at the BP Husky Refinery turned tragic, killing two employees and devastating the community.
What You Need To Know
- A fire at the BP Husky Refinery in Oregon, Ohio killed two employees
- The refinery produces almost 4 million gallons of gas and 160,000 barrels of crude oil per day
- The cause of the fire is still unknown, but BP is working with local, state and federal officials
The fire was put out around 10:15 p.m. after burning for nearly three and a half hours.
This refinery produces almost four million gallons of gas and 160,000 barrels of crude oil per day, but is currently shut down.
Colin Flanagan of Oregon expressed his condolences for those affected by the tragedy.
“Prayers to their families,” said Flanagan. “It’s just another thing where it could’ve been somebody that you knew, one of us, somebody in this community. There’s kids today probably waking up without parents.”
He described what he heard when the fire first started and why he did not think it was a fire at first.
“I actually thought it was thunder, is what it sounded like,” he said. “There was a big crack outside. I didn’t think much of it until I kinda started looking at social media and saw that there had been this explosion, big fireball at the refinery.”
He posted on Twitter that he supports Ohio’s House Bill 235 because it advocates for an increase in the amount of safety training that high-hazard workers receive.
“When you empower those workers and have them trained and highly skilled to do that kind of work, it’s better for all of us around here,” he said.
Flanagan said he hopes situations like this can be prevented in the future.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. BP reported it is working with local, state and federal officials while focusing on the safety of their employees, responders and the public.