Fire Erupts at ExxonMobil Refinery in Louisiana

The plant produces gasoline, jet fuel and items such as paint and adhesives.

Exxon
WAFB via AP

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Fire crews say they've extinguished a blaze inside an ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that turned the night sky a shade of orange and sent a large plume of smoke into the air. The fire erupted at the facility in Baton Rouge around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Baton Rouge Fire Department spokesman Curt Monte told news outlets.

"We've seen reports of people saying explosion. I can tell you there was no explosion," Monte told reporters at an early morning news conference Wednesday. "We want the people to know that there has not been any off-site impact and we're going to continue to be out here as long as it takes to make sure that that doesn't happen," he added.

No injuries were reported and the fire was contained to the location where it started, Monte said. The glow of the fire could be seen from miles away, news outlets reported. It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire.

ExxonMobil is the largest manufacturing employer in Louisiana and its Baton Rouge refinery is the fifth largest in the country, WAFB-TV reported. It produces gasoline, jet fuel and more, as well as items such as paint and adhesives at the chemical plant.

The company said in a tweet that it was responding the situation, including monitoring air quality at the fence line. The air outside the plant "bore no particular odor," The Advocate reported.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana's state capital, is about 80 miles northwest of New Orleans.


More in Safety