5 dead, 2 hurt in blast, fire at Wash. refinery recently fined for safety violations

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20100403/D9ERI3JO0.html

Apr 3, 6:09 AM (ET)

By GEORGE TIBBITS

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) - A Tesoro Corp. oil refinery blast and fire that claimed five lives is now the subject of state and federal investigations. The company has also launched its own probe.

The refinery was recently fined for safety violations amid what federal watchdogs call a troubling trend of serious accidents at refineries.


A Tesoro Corp. refinery, including a gas flare flame that is part normal plant operations, is shown Friday, April 2, 2010, in Anacortes, Wash. An overnight fire and explosion at the refinery killed at least three people working at the plant. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)


Three men died at the scene early Friday and two women died later at a Seattle hospital.

Two other men were badly burned. Matt Gumbel, 34, and Lew Janz, 41, were hospitalized in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The blast shook houses and woke people miles away at about 12:30 a.m. Friday, shooting flames as high as the refinery's tower before the blaze was extinguished about 90 minutes later.

Anacortes is about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound.

FULL story at link.