Fire under control at Irving Oil Refinery

A fire broke out at the Saint John refinery on Monday morning.

A fire at Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery Monday morning is now under control.

In an update posted to social media just before 10 a.m. Monday morning, Irving Oil says an operational issue occurred at it’s Saint John refinery which activated an emergency alarm. The post goes on to say the situation was isolated, contained, and operations at the location have returned to normal.

The fire took roughly an hour to bring down.

A large cloud of black smoke could be seen coming from the refinery, which is located on the city’s east side.

Saint John Fire Department (SJFD) crews were dispatched to the Irving Oil Refinery following reports of a product leak that ignited on site Monday morning. Twenty-two firefighters from the department responded to the site, along with Irving Oil’s own firefighting team.

SJFD says crews worked in close coordination with the refinery’s emergency response team and assisted in containing and extinguishing the fire. Both water and foam were used in the suppression efforts.

“It usually looks worse than what it is,” says SJFD Deputy Chief Ed Moyer. “We train with the refinery, and we know they’re well equipped to handle these types of fires so it’s not as scary as you may think.”

Moyer says fire crews undergo training on the refinery grounds every year to be better prepared and knowledgeable about the challenges on site.

The situation is now under control, and SJFD crews will be leaving the facility shortly. No injuries have been reported, and there is no threat to the surrounding community.

“We always try to get the message out as soon as we know the information,” Moyer says. “We made a bunch of notifications to [New Brunswick’s Emergency Measures Organization] and city officials so that people knew that they were not in any danger at any time.”

The site is transitioning to Irving Oil’s onsite team, with SJFD remaining on standby should further assistance be required.

The refinery, which is the largest in Canada, was established in 1960.

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