Big Explosion on Staten Island

[alysheba88]

BArge on fire. Felt it in my office in NJ. On TV now

[NoTies]

Fred
How close is this to your house ? Noties

[Louis Cypher]

By ELIZABETH LeSURE
The Associated Press
Friday, February 21, 2003; 11:18 AM


An explosion rocked an oil refinery on the edge of Staten Island, sending black smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air.

"We have a preliminary report that a tanker was transferring a product or was being fueled and somehow ignited," Fire Department Chief William Van Wart said.

The explosion was reported at Port Mobile, near the Outerbridge Crossing in the southwestern part of Staten Island, said a spokeswoman for the Staten Island borough office. The fire started at 10:10 a.m., according to a spokeswoman for the New York Fire Department.

No injuries were immediately reported.

FBI spokesman Steve Kodak in Newark, N.J., said there was no indication of terrorism. However, FBI officials in Washington said they were still examining it because a refinery is the type of infrastructure terrorists might target.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro were on their way to the scene.

The refinery faced the Arthur Kill waterway and New Jersey, but the smoke and flames could be seen many miles away in midtown Manhattan and in Trenton, N.J., which is about 35 miles away.

City officials said residents were not in immediate danger.

"At this point, people should not take any special precautions. It's unlikely this could spread to a residential area," Bloomberg said shortly after the fire was reported.

Brian Roehrkasse, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the department "is closely monitoring the situation with local state authorities and other federal agencies as well as assisting in the coordination of the response."

Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said the New York-bound lanes of the Outerbridge Crossing were closed to speed emergency vehicles to the site. Operations at Newark Airport were not affected by the explosion.

Coleman said, "We're there to assist if any evacuation are necessary."