9 hospitalized after fire at Texas chemical plant
Officials said there was little risk to the public, but plan to monitor air quality at the site of the fire.
LEARN MOREMay 15, 2023
A fire at a Marathon Petroleum refinery near Houston on Monday killed a worker and prompted a battle with open flames as crews worked to bring it under control.
The fire broke out at a plant near Galveston Bay, a heavily industrialized area on the Texas coast, at approximately 9:30 a.m. Central Time.
Marathon Petroleum said it was investigating the cause of the blaze. There were no immediate reports of additional injuries.
The company said it would monitor air quality in the nearby community as a precaution.
Texas City police said the fire had been contained by Monday afternoon and was not at risk of spreading to other facilities.
In a statement to the Associated Press, Marathon said "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."
In 2005, an explosion at this same facility killed 15 people and injured 180 others. At the time it was owned by BP. Marathon Petroleum bought the facility in 2013.
Earlier this month, a fire a a petrochemical facility run by Shell in Deer Park hospitalized nine workers with heat injuries. That fire took two days to fully extinguish. Shell said the fire response generated more wastewater than the facility could store. Some water was released into the Houston Ship Channel.
