Fire extinguished at Marathon Detroit refinery; no injuries

4/27/2013

DETROIT -- A fire tonight at a Detroit crude oil refinery that forced the partial evacuation of the town of Melvindale, Mich., has been extinguished, said a spokesman for the plant’s owner, Marathon Petroleum Corp .

No injuries were reported at the refinery from the blaze in a tank that stored petrochemical feedstock for production units, said Marathon spokesman Shane Pochard.

“We’re working with Melvindale police to return residents to their homes,” Pochard said. “That has not yet been completed.”

The blaze broke out about 6 p.m. and was extinguished at about 8 p.m.

Marathon’s Detroit refinery is the only one in the state and can refine up to 106,000 barrels of crude oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Pochard said he did not know if the refinery shut down production because of the fire.