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Syncrude fire extinguished

Last Updated Mar 16, 2017 at 11:41 am MDT

PHOTO. Fire on the Syncrude Oilsands Site on March 14.

Syncrude Emergency Services and Operations have safely extinguished the fire in the Mildred Lake Upgrader. The fire had been isolated and under control since Tuesday afternoon.

The fire at Syncrude on March 14 that injured one worker, was caused by a line failure.

In a press release, Syncrude said that the line failure caused naptha to leak into their hydrotreating area and that Emergency Services and Operations personnel have remained on the scene.

“My deepest appreciation goes out to everyone who responded to this incident,” says Syncrude CEO Mark Ward. “This remains a difficult time for our organization, but I am proud of the tireless efforts of our employees to ensure the safety and stability of our operations.”

Work is ongoing to fully isolate the impacted area to allow safe entry to assess the damage and develop a repair strategy.

Syncrude’s operations are stable and several Upgrader units have been shut down or minimized. Mining and extraction at both Mildred Lake and Aurora are being paced to balance bitumen demand.

The worker who was injured was transported to the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre on March 14 in serious, but stable condition.

He is now stable and being treated in an Edmonton hospital.

Syncrude and agencies, including Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, will conduct a full investigations to understand exactly what happened and help prevent future incidents.