February 12, 2009 - Calumet Refinery Fire is Quickly Controlled by Plant Employees

No injuries reported

An early morning fire at the Calumet Refinery, 3333 Midway Avenue, was quickly extinguished by Calumet’s employees. The fire was extinguished prior to the fire department’s arrival but fire crews stood by until the pressure of a processing rig was reduced to a safe level.

Shreveport Firefighters were dispatched at 1:34 a.m. and arrived on scene at 1:38 a.m., and waited to assist Calumet’s Fire Brigade. At 1:52 a.m., Battalion Chief James Johnson, the SFD’s on-scene Incident Commander, determined that the situation was safe.

Fire officials said, “The fire originated on the second level deck of a diesel fuel processing rig known as a hydrotreater. The fire was likely caused when a flange weakened from continuous expansion and contraction of the metal being heated.” Fortunately, there were no reported injuries to Calumet employees or Shreveport Firefighters.