PETER HOLLEY and MICHELLE MONDO
San Antonio Express/Houston Chronicle
Reprinted with Permission

SAN ANTONIO — Firefighters are battling a two-alarm blaze at a fuel refinery on the city's south side after a truck at a loading dock exploded, injuring at least one person and possibly others.

Locations as far as 3 miles away were being evacuated as a large plume of dark smoke trailed over the area. Firefighters were going door-to-door urging residents to stay at least one mile from the fire.

Cindy Campbell, the controller at AGE Refining Inc., confirmed that a truck caught fire while at a loading dock at their plant at Southeast Military Drive and South Presa Street.

“Right now we don't have a lot of information,” Campbell said. “I know that a tanker at the truck rack has blown up and the fire department is on site.”

The company, which serves the U.S. Air Force, handles jet fuel and diesel, Campbell said. The facility is the city's only refinery.

There were unofficial reports of a secondary explosion shortly before noon.

Campbell said people are being kept out of the area. Evacuations also included a building in Brooks City-Base and a nearby apartment complex.

One person is believed to be injured, possibly burned and others have complained of chest pains. Firefighters are concerned about nearby fuel supplies and their proximity to the blaze.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has sent out emergency responders to the site to help the city's hazardous materials team, which is taking the lead on the fire.

The responders' main concern is potential harm from fine particulate matter, which can be a lung irritant, and potentially hazardous hydrocarbons which are associated with any petroleum fuel fire.

Neighborhoods surrounding the fire were jarred by the explosion. The Rev. James Galvin, pastor at Mission San Juan, heard a loud rumble, went outside and saw the plume of smoke.

“It's pretty big,” said Galvin, who added no one has asked that the mission be evacuated yet. “It's just straight up.”

Al Remley, chief of interpretation for the National Park Service, said he was pulling out park staff from San Juan and Mission Espada, about 3 miles south from the explosion.

“We just want to get folks out of harms way,” Remley said.

Don Holzwort, who lives in the Symphony Lane neighborhood a mile away, on the San Antonio River, was watering the grass when he saw smoke. He thought a house across the river was on fire.

Then he heard sirens. Next, came the booms, all in a row.

“All of a sudden I started hearing the explosions: one after another,” Holzwart said. “Then, after an explosion, you could see the flames coming above the top of the trees, over the top of the trees from my house.”

Holzwort said the explosions continued for about 45 minutes, but they gradually got farther and farther apart. So far, he had not been asked to evacuate from his neighborhood, which is west of the explosion.

According to Holzwort, smoke appeared to be moving away from his house.

Staff writers Eva Ruth Moravec, Vianna Davila and Vicki Vaughan contributed to this report.

pholley@express-news.net