Free Republic

ANACORTES, Wash. - An explosion and fire at a Washington state oil refinery shook homes and shot flames into the night sky early Friday, killing five people and critically injuring two others. The fire struck the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Anacortes, about 70 miles north of Seattle on Puget Sound, at about 12:30 a.m., the company said. The blaze occurred while maintenance work was being performed and was extinguished in about 90 minutes. Four workers -- two women and two men -- were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, about 70 miles south of the refinery, with severe burns....