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Refinery fire burning out

MARCUS HOOK -- The fire set off by the window-rattling, spectacular explosion that rocked the Sunoco refinery near the Pennsylvania-Delaware border late last night is burning out this afternoon.

The explosion occurred in Claymont, Del., just south of the main refinery in Marcus Hook. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)
The explosion occurred in Claymont, Del., just south of the main refinery in Marcus Hook. (Ron Cortes/Staff Photographer)Read more

MARCUS HOOK -- The fire set off by the window-rattling, spectacular explosion that rocked the Sunoco refinery near the Pennsylvania-Delaware border late last night is burning out this afternoon.

No evacuations have been ordered, and no dangerous air emissions have been detected, officials say.

Firefighters poured water on the fire through the night, but after they gained control, municipal departments withdrew late this morning, leaving Sunoco's fire department to dampen down hot spots.

The ethylene unit at Marcus Hook, the site of the blaze, is closed, and workers showing up this morning were handed flyers telling them to avoid the area. However, the rest of the facility was open. "People are still reporting to work here at the refinery," said Sunoco spokesman Thomas Golembeski.

Ethylene is used in the production of plastic.

The cause of the fire will be investigated by the Delaware fire marshal's office.

Around the refinery, the second largest on the East Coast, life appeared normal this morning, with schools open and commuters headed to work.

A group of children at the Les Enfants learning center across from the refinery were outside gaping at the aftermath of the fire. Carol LaMon, 51, of Boothwyn, who runs the center, said attendance was on the light side today, "and the phones have been ringing off the hook." She said she could recall only one evacuation in the last 18 years.

Residents reported hearing one or two explosions that shook car and house windows about 10:15 p.m. While the refinery is near the state line, the flames were picked up by a web camera more than 10 miles away at Philadelphia International Airport.

"All I know is that there are a million pipes down there, and I did not want to wait for another explosion," said Debbie Collison, a resident of nearby Linwood who could see the flames from a window in her home. She fled the house in a car with her son, his girlfriend, a next-door neighbor, two cats and a dog. She described the explosion as a "ba-boom."

"It was like a war zone," said Tony Kozak, 56, who also lives nearby. "My wife heard a loud 'boom,' which woke her up," he said. "I heard fire trucks and sirens going off. There were helicopters going all night."

By 1:30 a.m., the fire was contained.

"We're very fortunate and grateful there were no injuries," said Golembeski, the Sunoco spokesman.

The explosion came three days after Pennsylvania fined the Marcus Hook refinery $762,150 in civil penalties for air-quality permit violations.

"Sunoco emitted nearly twice the permitted limit of particulate matter and an average of four times the permitted level of ammonia from a unit at this facility for more than one year," Environmental Protection Southeast Regional Director Joseph A. Feola said in a statement.