Fires break out on fuel tank in Haifa Bay

Approximately40 fire crews around Israel are working to contain fires on a fuel tank in Haifa Bay.  

A fuel storage tank with a c apacity of 12,000 cubic meters burst into flames at the Bazan Group oil refinery in Haifa Bay.

No injuries were reported to have occurred from the conflagration on the tank, which according to Israel Fire Services was only around 10% full.  

“The tank is not in the vicinity of production facilities,” read a statement from the Bazan Group.

However, Israel’s fire services are not taking any chances. Forty firefighting crews from different locations around Israel have already arrived to help control the flames and to prevent them from spreading to other gas tanks.

“There are no casualties and many firefighters are engaged in preventing the fire from spreading to the surrounding area,” the Bazan Group added.

Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection is also providing advice regarding the most effective methods to contain the situation.

“Ministry workers are on-call in the area and providing guidance,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The Environmental Protection ministry is performing measurements of air pollution from fine particles following the fire, evaluating the circumstances of the conflagration and its impact on the environment, while checking the effect on factories in the region and transmitting directives to both factories and area residents.”

The Haifa District Municipality’s Environmental Protection division has called for residents in the Haifa region to stay indoors as well as to close their windows and doors so as to avoid any consequential pollution.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

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