Safety experts have begun an investigation into a fire at an oil refinery which saw flames shoot 100ft into the air. Specialists from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will sift through evidence at the Petroplus Coryton refinery, near Stanford le Hope, Essex to find out what went wrong. An explosion occurred when the fire broke out on Wednesday 31 October 2007 and caused buildings to shake 14 miles away. Managers at the refinery said the fire started after a leak of petroleum gas.
Ten fire engines and several special units were called to the refinery, which is 30 miles from London along the Thames Estuary. Fortunately nobody was hurt. At the height of the blaze a huge column of smoke could be seen from 20 miles away. HSE inspectors had actually been at the site the day before the blaze, carrying out routine checks.
Jon Barden, refinery manager said, "The rest of the refinery is running normally and we'll work with our people to ensure normal production is resumed as soon as possible." The HSE also commented that their experts would be examining whether there were any similarities between the fire and the huge explosion an at oil storage depot at Buncefield in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in December 2005. A story we have covered in previous Monthly Bulletins.
