More than two dozen firefighters battled a large blaze after an explosion in an oilfield near Shallowater, Texas early Friday morning, according to The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
One home was evacuated and the crews fought the fire for more than two hours.
A heater treater -- the device that removes water from crude oil pumped by the pumpjack -- exploded at about 2 a.m. near FM 2641 east of CR 1400, West Carlisle Fire Chief Tim Smith told the newspaper.
He said the explosions of heater treaters are extremely rare and that they are normally very safe.
"For some reason -- we don't know why -- it malfunctioned and caught on fire," he said.
The damages were estimated to be a least $200,000.
