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March 27, 1998
(Municipal and Provincial Affairs)


The following statement was issued today by Arthur D. Reid, Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs. It was also read in the House of Assembly:

Come by Chance Oil Refinery Fire

As Minister Responsible for the Office of the Fire Commissioner, I wish to provide the House of Assembly with a status report relating to Wednesday's fire at the Come By Chance Oil Refinery.

I have been assured that the appropriate actions to secure the site were immediately taken.

I wish to advise the House that a team of experts has now been assembled and are in the process of conducting a thorough investigation into the cause of Wednesday's fire at the Come By Chance oil refinery.

It is believed the fire started in the refinery's Naptha Process Heater. It is suspected that a tube inside the heater failed, releasing naphtha into the fire causing an explosion. While the fire emitted a cloud of black smoke, it was brought under control by refinery forces within 30 minutes and it is not believed to have caused any damage to the environment. A Community Liaison Committee is in place and will keep area residents advised with respect to environmental issues.

As Honourable Members are aware, three employees were injured. All three are male workers. They were taken to the Clarenville Hospital and later airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre where they are being treated at the burn unit. All three workers sustained varying degrees of burns to their bodies as a result of this serious incident.

As well, I wish to express, on behalf of Honourable Members on both sides of the House, our deep concern for the families. We can only imagine what they must be going through. We would like the families to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time.

It is my understanding that the refinery management is doing everything possible to assist and accommodate the needs of the immediate families of the fire victims.

I wish to inform the House that Allison Tupper, a forensic engineer from Halifax, Nova Scotia arrived at the North Atlantic Refining Company site at 2 p.m. on Thursday. Mr. Tupper, who has considerable expertise in these matters, will assist in this investigation which is being conducted under authority of the Fire Commissioner and in cooperation with the RCMP.

While this is a fire investigation, it is also very much a work safety related issue.

The Department of Environment and Labour has responsibility for Workplace Health and Safety and the Department of Government Services and Lands is responsible for Boiler (Vessel) Pressure Inspections and both departments will assist these other agencies in this investigation.

Environment and Labour will undertake a comprehensive investigation of this incident from an occupational health and safety perspective. The department will specifically look at safety policies, procedures, training and equipment and the objective will be to determine if all efforts were made to ensure the safety and protection of workers at the refinery.

I do wish it to be known that regular inspections are conducted at this facility. In fact, a Workplace Health and Safety Inspector was in the process of conducting a safety inspection at the refinery at the time of the fire and explosion.

Government is confident that these agencies will conduct a thorough investigation. Their findings will provide relevant information relating to the cause of the fire and it will address matters relating to safety practices and the environment.

Upon completion of the report, it will be government's intention to review all of the relevant findings with the refinery owners with a view to initiating whatever actions that are deemed necessary to prevent any such future occurrences.

1998 03 27 10:30 p.m.

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