Sept. 21--An explosion at a West Virginia gas processing plant early Saturday rattled homes miles away and lit the night sky a deep orange, officials said, but there were no injuries.
"It woke us up. It shook the house," said Jim Hunt, fire chief of the Clarington, Ohio, Volunteer Fire Department, across the Ohio River. "I thought maybe the house next to us or two doors (blew) up. And then I see an orange flame."
Firefighters and Dominion Gas employees responded to the fire at the Natrium Processing and Fractionation Facility in Marshall County, W.Va., according to a company spokesman.
Clarington VFD did not respond, Hunt said. Volunteer departments from Moundsville and New Martinsville and county crews responded, officials said.
The fire call came in about 1:30 a.m., said company spokesman Dan Donovan.
It was confined to a small area of the plant, Donovan said. The fire was allowed to burn itself out and had done so by approximately 8:30 a.m.
Donovan said there was no threat to the public -- no one was injured, and all personnel were accounted for.
Officials closed state Route 2 below Moundsville for several hours, authorities said.
The plant opened this summer, according to Dominion's website. The facility processes 200 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and fractionates 36,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day.
Hunt said residents on both sides of the river felt the blast.
"We had people call us three or four miles away because they felt it," he said. "They thought downtown (Clarington) had blown up."
Chris Togneri is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-380-5632 or [email protected].
Copyright 2013 - The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
