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Emergency services respond to major explosion and fire at Engen Refinery in Durban
Emergency services responded to a major explosion and fire at South Africa’s second-largest crude oil refinery, the Engen Refinery situated in Wentworth, Durban, early on Friday morning, 4 December 2020. The explosion that occurred just after 7h00am, was heard across the city and caused a large fire that sent plumes of black smoke billowing. Engen, which operates the 120 000 barrel per day plant and is majority owned by Malaysia’s Petronas, said a fire broke out at around 05h10 and was extinguished by 06h45. Acting head at eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services, Sbusiso Mkhulisi, stated in his report, “At approximately 07h13 on Friday, 4 December 2020, we received call for a fire and explosion at the Engen Refinery facility, 403-459 Tara Road, Wentworth, Durban. We immediately mobilised our fire teams as per a Pre-Determined Attendance (PDA) procedure. The initial weight of response entailed two rescue pumpers, one foam carrier, one foam tender, one chemical unit, two water carriers and an incident command vehicle. On arrival, we established that Engen Refinery fire teams were busy trying to extinguish their fire. We deployed our crews accordingly and joined their efforts, setting up a Joint Operating Centre (JOC). The fire was reported to be a high-pressure fire that was located at the diesel-reactor and pressurised nitrogen tank section of the refinery. Engen had already evacuated the plant to their assembly point which was outside their main gate. Fire and Emergency Services took over the Chairmanship of the JOC. The JOC consisted of different stakeholders and agencies; ie eThekwini Metro Fire, Engen Refinery team, Metro Police, South African National Defence Force, KZN AEMS, amongst others. In trying to extinguish the fire, the two pressure feed lines had to be isolated. After this was achieved, the focus was directed at extinguishing the flames of the consequent ground fires using a foam solution. The fire was successfully extinguished by 08h45am. All the fire fighting water used to extinguish the fire was contained within the Engen Refinery.”
Community impact “Whilst we were dealing with the Engen Refinery fire, our teams were also dispatched at 07h29am to a structural fire at a nearby block of flats, which was situated two roads away from Engen Refinery in Brooklyn Road, Austerville. The flat on fire was quickly extinguished by our team. There were two casualties, Code Green (Priority 3s) from this fire, who were transported to hospital. eThekwini Fire Brigade completed this incident at 08h20.” Mkhulisi added, “There were no fatalities reported at this incident. There were six green code (Priority-3 or moderate¬to-minor injury) casualties, who were transported to St Augustine's Hospital by private contracted ambulance service. All this occurred prior to the brigade's arrival.” An Engen spokesperson said that the cause of the fire was under investigation. “With regards to the fire incident at the Engen refinery on Friday… Engen wishes to confirm that no injuries were recorded. All refinery personnel have been accounted for,” stated Engen spokesperson Gavin Smith. The fire was extinguished at 08h45. All refinery process units have been safely shut down in order to ensure that the plant remains completely safe while investigation into the root cause of the incident is underway. Engen will continue to extend its full cooperation with authorities and government agencies in concluding the investigation into the incident. The Engen refinery adheres to stringent health, safety and environment protocols and operates in strict accordance with its operating licence requirements. Our immediate priority remains the safety and well-being of employees and the neighbouring community.” Source: Sbusiso Mkhulisi, acting head at eThekwini Fire and Emergency Services; Engen Statement |
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