Just saw on ABC - a level 3 emergency, 3 alarm fire at the Hess Refinery on Staten Island. Huge plumbs of black smoke and flames....I am sure than some of the ladies in Manhattan can probably see it in the sky.
Betty
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I just heard that too!! They closed the outer bridge on Staten Island!!
ss2002
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Thanks for posting this, Claud. We can see the smoke and some coworkers were getting a little anxious.
shamma
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I see the cloud from my window. It was a bit scary
Betty
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I see it on TV the fire is HUGE!!! So much black smoke lifting very high. It seems pretty contained though. It is off to the side (in the water) of the refinery..If it were in the middle it would be a disaster!!
Cira
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Yeah ... we are all looking out the window and freaking out!
Misty
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Yep, it's crazy. If you are in midtown and can see the Empire State...look up...you can see the plume right past the building.
I wouldn't go out without putting your scarf over your face today midtown girls....
Thrilled
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Okay it's the Port MObil Refinery, not Hess. They also said there is a barge docked there that may have millions of gallons of gasoline on it...
Edited to say my MOH is watching it live on TV - its a BARGE that's on fire, not the refinery, and apparently there is another barge that hasnt ignited yet...
Misty
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Uch...this is terrible. There is oil spilling into the water now....
Why can't NY just get a friggin break already.
Thrilled
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Misty - because we are the center of the universe and they can get mmore bang for their buck, literally, here. Remember in the kast round of intelligence 'chatter' they said that they will next strike at the heart of their last victory. That would be us.
Misty
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I understand that....but I think it's a bit early to deem this terror related....
shamma
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I heard on CBS news they say its an accident
Misty
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Police: Staten Island oil storage fire caused by 'accident' Friday, February 21, 2003 Posted: 11:36 AM EST (1636 GMT)
Black smoke and flames hovered over an oil storage facility on Staten Island, New York, following an explosion Friday at the refinery.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- A massive fire erupted Friday following an explosion at an oil storage facility on Staten Island, New York, shaking residents and sending a plume of black smoke and flickering flames into the air.
Police sources described the explosion as a 'refueling accident' that occurred at a loading barge.
Fire Department officials said at least one person was injured and taken to Staten Island University and the Coast Guard searched the Arthur Kill Waterway for possible victims.
It was a four-alarm fire. A spokesman said 50 units, including 200 firefighters, hazardous material and special operations crews, responded to the blaze.
'We're working on extinguishing the flames as soon as possible,' said Fire Department spokesman Michael Loughran.
Authorities were evacuating a perimeter of one-half to three-quarter of a square mile around the facility, including the Arthur Kill residential section.
The blaze began at about 10:10 a.m. EST when a barge or a small vessel ran into the Port Mobil fuel oil complex on the Arthur Kill Waterway, spilling its contents into the river, said Sgt. Charlie McDevitt of the Woodbridge, New Jersey, Police Department. Woodbridge is near the site of the explosion.
Smoke from the fire drifts over Manhattan on Friday. Exxon Mobil Corp. owns the facility, a spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard said that two rescue boats and a helicopter were on the scene and three cutters were on their way to the fire. Local fire crews also have responded, and officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are monitoring the situation.
'It shook my entire house. I thought the window was going to break,' said Staten Island resident Mary Ann Lang.
Flames were three stories high, she said.
Other witnesses provided similar accounts.
allure
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I hope you gals are staying calm in the city
Claud2001
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The good news is...this is MUCH more under control right now. It seems that it has mostly burned itself out. Thank goodness!
bride082003
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Claud, yes I heard the same. I have family on Staten Island and they said the house shook and neighbors windows blew out...luckily theirs didnt - she has 3 small children in the house
Buttafli1277
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I would have definately thought it was a terrorist attack. I'm sure everyone in SI thought so as well.
7-11
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i live in staten island. i just talked to my dad. he said he heard a loud bang and the house shook. he thought the snow on the roof caved in. i heard someone on the news say that is well. we live a over 5 miles away though, im sure people closer thought it was something worse.
