SAFTENG NOTE: The fatal H2S event in Deer Park last year that claimed two (2) contractor lives was the result of contractors opening the WRONG flange!
Now we have a similar event that led to a fire that burned for three (3) days.
A report regarding a 2025 Refinery Fire in CA found that two (2) contractors “mistakenly loosened the bolts on a flange full of hot hydrocarbons during a routine but hazardous procedure.” The report went on to state the problems stemmed from “inadequate” supervision and training of contract workers“.
At approximately 1:35PM on February 1, 2025, two (2) contract workers began opening a flange to install isolation blind #816 to prepare for planned maintenance on one of the process units (Cat Feed Hydrotreater, CFH). The CFH had been shut down for maintenance on January 30, 2025.
