OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14499214
FINA OIL AND CHEMICAL COMPANY
PORT ARTHUR, TX·
Event description
One employee killed, one injured in frac tower fire
Investigation abstract
Employees #1 and #2 and five coworkers were preparing part of a crude unit for t es recognized the hazardous nature of the situation. urnaround. The system was being washed with water to flush all hydrocarbons into the fractionation tower, where the mixture of water and hydrocarbons was being drained onto the floor and hosed into a nearby open sewer. A series of operating heaters was located 35 to 50 ft downwind. A slug of light hydrocarbons was wash ed from the tower onto the apron. Employee #1 smelled the hydrocarbons and went to the drain valve and closed it. Before he could walk away, the vapors were ign ited by the heater and he was engulfed by a fireball and killed. Employee #2 was overcome by heat and smoke while she was fighting the fire. None of the employe
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 38 Male
- Nature of injury
- Burn/Scald(Heat) (5)
- Part of body
- LUNG (28)
- Accident type
- INHALATION (8)
- Source of injury
- FIRE/SMOKE (16)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- MISJUDGMENT, HAZ. SITUATION (1)
- Environmental factor
- GAS/VAPOR/MIST/FUME/SMOKE/DUST (7)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 30 Female
- Nature of injury
- Burn/Scald(Heat) (5)
- Part of body
- BODYSYSTEM (4)
- Accident type
- ABSORPTION (10)
- Source of injury
- FIRE/SMOKE (16)
- Occupation
- Occupation not reported (999)
- Human factor
- MISJUDGMENT, HAZ. SITUATION (1)
- Environmental factor
- GAS/VAPOR/MIST/FUME/SMOKE/DUST (7)
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.