A hydrocarbon material leak at the Martinez Refining Company caused a fire that injured six individuals and triggered a health advisory on Saturday, refinery personnel confirm.
According to Martinez Refining Company, two workers were conducting planned maintenance on one of the refinery’s process units around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday before noticing the leak that then caught fire.
"The workers immediately evacuated the area, and the material subsequently caught fire... The fire then spread within the immediate vicinity," MRC said in a post on Facebook.
Refinery officials then informed the county of the fire that broke out during flaring at 1:49 p.m., Contra Costa Health said
Flaring is the burning of excess gas that occurs during equipment shutdowns or malfunctions.
"To manage the response, MRC, ConFire, and the Martinez Police Department formed a Unified Command, which allows multiple agencies and organizations to effectively work together," MRC said. "By approximately 8:30 p.m., the fire was suppressed to the point the Unified Command transitioned back to MRC, which continues to manage the incident response with continuing support from our mutual aid partners."
The blaze triggered a public health advisory, which is still in effect for sensitive groups, for all of Martinez, parts of Pacheco, and Clyde due to smoke from the fire.
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CCH, on Sunday, recommended that residents who have respiratory sensitivity remain indoors with doors and windows closed while smoke continues to clear from the area.
Health officials noted in a news release that as of 11 a.m., the fire was mostly out Sunday, but the agency will keep its health advisory in place for people with respiratory sensitivity until the fire is completely extinguished.
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A shelter-in-place alert was declared at 4:49 p.m. Saturday for specific neighborhoods near the refinery and lifted at about 9 p.m.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District confirmed to NBC Bay Area on Saturday that there have been 28 complaints about the incident, including two about the odor before the fire even started.
Four people were taken to a hospital for treatment and three were released on Saturday, while two others were treated at the scene and released, Ted Leach, a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District captain, said.
MRC said two of those transported were company employees.
Saturday was the latest in a string of incidents and violations at the Martinez refinery.
Two of the largest included the release of petroleum coke dust. Back in November of 2022, a fine layer of the sooty substance from the refinery, blanketed the surrounding neighborhood.
A similar incident in July of 2023 prompted civil action from Contra Costa County and a lawsuit from residents.
Bay City News helped contribute to this report.