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An 18 wheeler exploded and started the fire. This is right by Brooks AFB.

The explosion happened around 11:30 a.m. at AGE Refining, Inc. located at 7811 South Presa, near Southeast Military Drive.

An AGE official said there were approximately 50 employees who would have been working at the refinery at the time of the explosion, and all of the employees there have been evacuated. The official also stated crude oil comes in on 18-wheelers and primarily jet and diesel fuel goes out. It is not known what was in the truck that exploded.

San Antonio Fire Department officials said they are in the process of evacuating people within a 1 mile radius of the refinery.

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Turns out this company was going through bankruptcy. Friday, February 26, 2010 AGE Refining expecting to emerge from Chapter 11 soon Read more: AGE Refining expecting to emerge from Chapter 11 soon - San Antonio Business Journal: A cash crisis brought on by low refining margins forced AGE Refining Inc. to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last month. According to the bankruptcy filing, the company has assets between $10 million and $50 million and debts between $100 million and $500 million. AGE Refining is a 10-year-old San Antonio company that refines and markets jet fuels, diesel products, solvents and other highly specialized fuels. Mark E. Andrews, an attorney with Cox Smith Matthews Inc. who represents AGE, says the company was forced to file its petition for bankruptcy after lenders said they could no longer extend credit for the purchase of new crude oil. That has led to a partial shut-down of the company’s refining operations at 7811 S. Presa St. — which Andrews says is temporary. The company finished its last batch of refined products during the second week of February. However, shortly after the petition was filed, Andrews says an agreement was worked out for the lenders to extend credit. The primary lenders are JP Morgan Chase and Chase Capital. “The plan is to continue operations in the next two weeks,” Andrews says. “The question is what the ownership structure and debt structure will be.” Glen Gonzalez, owner and CEO of AGE Refining, did not return calls for comment before deadline. The company’s refining complex has two processing facilities off South Presa Street, a 13,500-barrel-per day-crude unit and a 1,500-barrel-per-day solvent distillation unit. It specializes in producing distillates — a range of refined products that include diesel, jet fuel and solvents. The company does not produce any gasoline. Read more: AGE Refining expecting to emerge from Chapter 11 soon - San Antonio Business Journal:

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An 18 wheeler exploded and started the fire.

While crude, diesel/jet fuel are flamable, it certainly takes a whole lot of things being just right for an explosion when they are not aspirated. Why is the hair standing up on the back of my neck?