Fire breaks out at Wynnewood refinery

News9.com

WYNNEWOOD, Okla. - A fire broke out Friday at a Wynnewood refinery for the third time in two years.

Refinery managers said the fire broke out at about 7 p.m. Crews were doing routine maintenance on a pipe when a fire erupted from leaking hydrocarbon, officials said.

Wynnewood Refining is owned by Denver-based Gary-Williams Energy Corp., according to records from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The oil refinery produces gasoline, propane, propylene, butane, fuel oils and solvents. The company has about 185 in Wynnewood, according to the Department of Labor.

Last month the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the refinery $350,000 for 50 alleged violations of safety standards

"Wynnewood Refining did not follow OSHA's process safety management standards and procedures," Dean McDaniel, OSHA's regional administrator in Dallas said in a press release last month. "We have inspected the company five times in the last two years. It is fortunate that no injuries or fatalities have occurred."

Previous incidents:

Feb. 2008
A furnace catches fire. No one was injured, but the fire did close a local highway.

2007
A lightning strike ignites a fire at the refinery

2006
The plant had an acid leak and a fire.

Source: The Associated Press