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Minburn County Firefighters First to Respond to Crude Oil Tank Fire
Minburn County Firefighters First to Respond to Crude Oil Tank Fire
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
Minburn County firefighters were first to respond to an industrial fire at a crude oil tank site in the remoted southeastern portion of the municipality on Jan. 30.
Minburn County Fire Department responded with two engines, two tenders, one wildland and a command unit after being dispatched to the scene at 10:50 am Tuesday morning. Mike Fundytus, Director of Protective Services said 13 members in total from the Minburn County Fire Department responded and arrived on site around 11:25 am.
The location of the fire was approximately 23 kilometres southeast of the Village of Mannville on a privately leased oil site in the area of Township Road 480 and Range Road 81. Personnel were evacuated to a staging area for their safety and there were no reports of injuries.
Irma Fire Rescue was dispatched at 12:30 pm with other units from the Town of Wainwright, Town of Vegreville and County of Vermilion River responding as well and providing mutual aid at various times throughout the day as more resources were required. “We had up to 33 municipal firefighters as well as the lease owner’s private contractor firefighters,” added Fundytus.
The fire departments engaged in defensive cooling of the unaffected oil tanks while awaiting the private contractor’s arrival. Once they arrived, around 3 pm, private water haulers were sourced to assist in the water shuttle and a suppression plan was made and carried out.
At 5 pm an emergency alert was issued. County of Minburn CAO Pat Podoborozny and Fundytus explained that, “As the smoke grew and more tanks caught on fire. It caused a larger explosion, and those explosions created a larger plume of smoke. After discussion with fire officials, we then knew the smoke was travelling fast to neighbouring areas and it could cause breathing difficulties or in a worst-case scenario, further fires or even a possible need to evacuate.
The MD of Wainwright was consulted as the wind was pushing the smoke in to their County, they agreed that an Alert was needed. Alberta Energy Management Agency (AEMA) assisted with the issuing of the alert based on the fact that the smoke was toxic, and the fire was not under control at the time the alert was issued.”
The alert was cancelled shortly after 7 pm as the immediate threat had been resolved. The fire was extinguished at approximately 9 pm.
Podobornzny said, “We are grateful for the diligent efforts of emergency responders in successfully containing and extinguishing the fire. Now, in collaboration with Alberta Energy Regular (AER) and the lease site owners, we are focused on the cleanup phase to ensure the community’s safety and the preservation of the environment.”
The AER is responsible for overseeing the lease site owner, (Lycos Energy Inc.) remediation and cleanup efforts. AER Media Management Specialist Renato Gandia confirmed that, “Lycos Energy Inc. notified the AER through the EDGE call centre about an oil tank fire that occurred on a lease near Wainwright. The fire was contained at around 6:45 pm.
The AER is reviewing the cause and circumstances of the incident to determine if the company met all requirements leading up to the incident. There was no report of injuries.
Lycos notified and updated the landowner about the incident.
AER inspectors attended the site, and the regulator will continue to monitor the company's activities related to incident clean-up, to ensure requirements are met.”
