Posted on 10/23/2009 6:59:22 PM PDT by Ebenezer
While government officials withheld speculation on the cause of the blast as fire brigades continued to battle the ensuing fire, union leaders called Friday evening for officials from the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. to explain what caused the powerful explosion and massive fire at the company’s fuel facility near San Juan Bay.
Ricardo Santos, an official at UTIER, the largest electrical utility union in Puerto Rico, said information had begun to circulate that work had been done at the facility to try to stop a leak on Thursday afternoon. The blast, which rocked the San Juan metro area, occurred at around 12:30 a.m. Friday and the fire continued to range into Friday night.
“Information has begun to emerge that indicates that there was no effective program of maintenance at the facilities. It has been said that they undertook repair works yesterday in the neglected tanks to fix a fuel leak,” Santos said in a statement.
“When the situation became critical, the managers of the petroleum company evacuated all the personnel as they were aware of the serious situation that was happening and the danger it posed to employees and the communities,” said Santos, a former UTIER president.
A reaction from the company was not immediately available.
Incredibly, nobody was killed or seriously injured by the explosion and fire.
Central Puertorriqueña de Trabajadores President Víctor Villalba and Secretary Federico Torres Montalvo expressed surprise that the “owners of the petroleum company had not provide any explanation for the explosion” by Friday evening.”
“It is important that the investigation determine whether the personnel assigned to maintain the facilities and the security were sufficient,” Villalba said.
“The public has the right to this information,” Torres Montalvo said.
Fire crews continued to battle the raging fire Friday night and authorities said that, although it is largely contained, the blaze could burn for days.
“It’s impossible to say what happened right now. We are focused on containing the fire and ensuring everyone’s safety,” Fortuño said in an early morning press conference.
FBI spokesman Harry Rodríguez said personnel would be arriving Saturday to join the joint command set up at the Pedrín Zorrilla Coliseum in Hato Rey, where efforts were being coordinated to contain the blaze and undertake the investigation into what caused it. He said an FBI hazardous materials team would be arriving in the coming days from the Washington, D.C. area.
The governor said preventive security has already been implemented around two other similar facilities on the island, in Guayanilla and Yabucoa, which can supply gas and fuel.
The facility is owned by the Caribbean Petroleum Corp., which heads the Gulf brand in Puerto Rico. It sits in the Luchetti Industrial Park at the edge of Bayamón near the Cataño and Guaynabo borders. The tanks at Caribbean Petroleum hold about 10% of the gasoline consumed in Puerto Rico, Consumer Affairs Secretary Luis Rivera Marín said.
The Caribbean Petroleum Corp.(CPC) refinery site encompasses approximately 115 developed acres. The facility is divided into a tank farm, a process area, administration area, and a wastewater treatment facility. In addition, Caribbean Petroleum Corp. owns and operates the only privately owned loading dock facility in Puerto Rico, located on the San Juan Bay in Guaynabo, approximately two and one-half miles from the site.
CPC owns a petroleum refinery, inland distribution facilities, and a marine loading operation. The refinery’s distribution facilities, including the marine terminal, are used for blending, storage and redistribution activities. In addition, CPC has under contract more than 200 service stations in Puerto Rico to market gasoline and diesel under the Gulf brand.
Marcial Orlando Felix, the top local official for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said a special team from the mainland would investigate the blast but would have to wait until the fire is out to enter the plant.
Police and FBI agents were also investigating graffiti that was found Friday after the blast in a highway tunnel near the Minillas Government Center in the capital city with the message: “Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf.”
“Everything is very preliminary at this point but obviously we’re looking into the graffiti and it’s a concern,” Police Superintendent José Figueroa Sancha said.
Personnel from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FBI were also at the scene.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Luis Fraticelli said his agency would provide assistance to local authorities in their investigation, which he said was normal in these cases.
Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock and Government Development Bank President Carlos García made a special presentation to investors attending the two-day public-private partnership conference in Fajardo to “put in context what is happening.”
“This was an extremely large explosion but the system is functioning. Puerto Rico has a sophisticated economy, so that if one part of it fails, there’s another part that picks up the slack,” McClintock said.
“We are treating this as an accident and continue to do so unless evidence surfaces pointing to something else,” he added.
ping
Oh, so now the unions are shocked, SHOCKED and practically blaming Gulf for the explosion and fire. What a clever attempt to turn suspicious eyes to another direction.
At least the authorities are prudent enough not to speculate on a cause or responsibility without the benefit of an investigation.
Some people will blame it on Goldman Sachs, I am sure. :)
Many many years ago the unions were behind the burning of the hotel in San Juan. The union leader had been involved in a Brinks boming in Connecticut and they were trying to grab the money from the hotel’s casino. Over one hundred people died including the publisher of the San Juan newspaper and a secret service person.
Sound more like 'rumors' than 'information' emerging.
Which means, Montalvo wants the information out. Neither government nor unions want the 'public' to know anything much except what government and unions want them to know.
It’s simple... Fire and gasoline are a bad mix.
I am sure it’s Bush’s Fault...
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