Emergency crews working to contain fire at Corpus Christi Valero refinery
Corpus Christi emergency crews responded to a fire at the Valero West Refinery Wednesday morning.
A Reverse Alert issued by the city of Corpus Christi just after 10 a.m. described a fire within the facility.
"Crews are currently responding to a fire within the Valero West Refinery. There is visible smoke. As a precaution, a portion of Up River Road is closed. At this time, there is no community action needed," the alert stated.
Around noon, crews were seen continuing to spray water at the fire. As of 2 p.m., the fire was ongoing, according to a spokesperson for Valero.
There were no injuries as of Wednesday afternoon.
It's not yet clear what caused the fire.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Corpus Christi Regional Office deployed a team to monitor air quality in the area, the agency said in a statement to the Caller-Times.
"At this time no shelter-in-place has been issued and TCEQ staff are integrated into the onsite incident command," the statement read.
Valero said in a news release that community air monitoring indicated there are no "offsite concerns."
"The safety of our workers and community is our priority and we are coordinating with state and local authorities," the release stated.
Fire department crews arrived to the scene around 9:50 a.m., Assistant Fire Chief Kenneth Erben said. The Corpus Christi Fire Department, the Refinery Terminal Fire Company and Valero emergency crews responded to the fire.
"CCFD is on scene with hazmat gear," Erben said Wednesday morning. "Our main focus is community protection and air monitoring for any contaminants to ensure the safety of residents in this area."
Wednesday's fire was the second fire at a Valero plant in Corpus Christi in less than a year. A fire was reported at Valero Energy Corp.'s Bill Greehey Refineries in early November, prompting an investigation by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Staff photographer Angela Piazza contributed to this story.
This is a developing story. Check Caller.com for updates.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Emergency crews working to contain fire at Valero West Refinery
