Companies that operate in the oil and gas industry must put better measures in place to safeguard their workers and the residents of the communities surrounding their operations in the event of a disaster.
This was the call put out on Saturday by leader of the La Brea community group, People for Progress, Victor Roberts in the wake of a fire at Lease Operators Limited in Palo Seco, which caused panic among residents on Friday.
According to reports, around 5.30 pm, the company’s production manager, Desmond Deokie, called the Siparia Fire Station to report an explosion on the company’s compound. The company is located along the Los Charos Road in Palo Seco.
Deokie told officers he heard one explosion, then he saw flames around several of the oil tanks on the compound and then heard several more explosions.
A source told the Guardian that operators were filling a vacuum trunk (an oil tanker) when there was an apparent pressure build-up and the tanker exploded.
Two vehicles parked in an external carpark were also destroyed as the fire travelled along a drain and engulfed them.
“Residents went into panic mode. When we came, we saw a tanker and some vehicles were on fire and some storage tanks were on fire,” Roberts said.
“We were in dread. We thought of threats of terrorism and, of course, people panicked. They had to scamper because no one knew what was taking place.”
He called on the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (Osha), Lease Operators and Petrotrin to meet with residents to discuss proper evacuation methods in the event of similar situations.
“Most of the time when we see Osha, it is because something of this magnitude has already happened. We want Osha to put preventative measures in place and we want to meet with the officials from Lease Operators and Petrotrin, concerning fire drills.”
There were reports that one man received minor injuries in the incident.