Fire at Marathon refinery kills 1 worker and sends 2 to the hospital

A fire at Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, Texas, has killed one worker and sent two to the hospital. According to Reuters, the incident occurred while the three workers were performing maintenance on a 5,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Ultraformer 3 (UU-3). A nearby pump seal failed, causing the fire. ABC 13 is reporting that the fire poses no threat to the surrounding community and no shelter in place is necessary.

KHOU 11 published a statement from Marathon, which read: "We extend our deepest sympathies to our employee's family, friends and co-workers, and our thoughts are with them as we all mourn his passing. The safety of our workers and the community is our top priority, and a full investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the incident."

Refinery fires in this area are an unfortunate, yet common occurrence. A fire at Shell’s Deer Park Chemicals facility earlier this month sent nine contractors to the hospital, and an explosion at the INEOS Phenol facility in March left one person injured, according to the Associated Press.