A decommissioned oil rig caught fire in Alabama on Wednesday, spilling a “potential hazard” into the water below, officials said.
A multi-layer rig containing petroleum, diesel fuel, hydraulic oil, cardboard, insulation and other combustible materials caught fire just before 2pm on Pinto Island, a site in Mobile Bay primarily dedicated to shipbuilding. said the mobile fire brigade.
As the crew was scrapping the old semi-submersible platform, a cut caused a flame that erupted after contact with old fuel and oil, mobile fire chief Jeremy Rami said. told CBS 42.
Firefighters immediately notified local and state emergency management departments of the “possibly hazardous material.” [were] flow into rivers and waterways. ”
Firefighters struggled to extinguish the two-alarm blaze because the platform is about 12 stories high and away from nearby fire hydrants, the chief said.
“The platform is probably 100 feet above the ground,” Rami said. “So whatever equipment we’re using on that platform has to be used with them, so we have to carry all the gear to the field.”
Shipyard crews will load firefighters, gear, hoses and other equipment onto basket cranes and transport them to a platform where other firefighters can make the necessary hose connections to establish a water supply, according to MFRD. We supported the fire department by doing this.
The agency also used drones and thermal cameras to detect remaining flame compartments as the floor of the platform became increasingly unstable for firefighters to stand on.
After about three hours, 55 firefighters and “hundreds of gallons of water and foam” were extinguished.
No injuries have been reported.
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The fire “did not pose a danger to anyone in the area,” but fire officials remained concerned about “potential hazards” to the environment.
“What we got was the residue mixed with the water and foam that we used to fight the flames, and it was just running down the top of the rig,” MFRD spokesperson Stephen Milhouse told reporters. told the group.
Investigations into the cause of the fire and its impact on the environment are ongoing.
