The massive fire that sent a large column of smoke and flames into the air is finally out at Marathon Petroleum in Garyville.
“The fire has been extinguished,” the company said in a statement Monday morning. “Our response team continues to monitor and maintain control of the impacted area at our Garyville Refinery.”
Residents in a two-mile radius of the sprawling plant on Airline Highway, were evacuated as a precaution after a section of the plant ignited early Friday morning. The blaze started in a containment area near a pair of tanks that stored naphtha which is a component in the production of gasoline.
St. John Parish President Jaclyn Hotard said the nature of the emergency left parish officials with little time to react.
"It's very different from a small, contained fire to something that's burning out of control," Hotard said. "That's the difficulty in a no notice event that things can go from one extreme to the other without a whole lot of notice."
Hotard thanked the local firefighters and personnel from Shell and Valero who helped Marathon put out the flames.
"We just want to say thank you to all those brave individuals who had to put themselves potentially in harm's way to assist the community as a whole," Parish President Hotard said.
The fire burned so hot, it melted portions of the tanks and left them charred and disfigured.
According to Marathon, “Air monitoring results have and continue to show no off-site impact. Three organizations have conducted independent air monitoring during the response: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and a third-party contractor, as well as our local Marathon team.”
St. John Parish residents who live next to the plant told WWL-TV; they are relieved the fire is finally out.
“I was pretty scared,” Lenny Lupe said. “I didn’t know if it was going to explode or nothing. I mean, every two to three minutes you would see a big ball of smoke going up. I mean 300, 400 feet in the air.”
“I know it’s a serious matter,” Shamori Riley said. “I’m relieved because I’m able to enjoy my home now. That being said. It’s a blessing.”
The company said two people were injured during the incident.
“Minor injuries have been reported, most related to heat. Mitigation protocols were implemented early in the response to ensure hydration and avoid fatigue of our team,” The company said.
Friday, St. John Parish President Jaclyn Hotard called the Marathon fire, “alarming.”
“I understand the residents’ concerns, especially for residents who have been here for a long time and have seen different incidents that happen,” Hotard said. “So, it is a little scary.”
People in the community impacted by the incident can call Marathon’s community assistance hotline toll-free at (866) 601-5880. The hotline will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The refinery has operated at reduced rates during the response effort. A plan is being developed to return the refinery to normal operations.
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