Social media was abuzz late Thursday with videos and images of large flames at Sarnia’s Imperial Oil site following reports of an “operating issue” at the plant.
Imperial says the issue occurred around 6:20 p.m., causing “visible flaring” and activating the site’s emergency warning sirens.
A message recorded via Imperial’s information line noted that both the City of Sarnia and CVECO (Chemical Valley Emergency Coordinating Organization) were notified of the incident.
“Shortly after responding to the operating issue, Imperial Fire Response Personnel assisted in extinguishing a grass fire on public property to the south of the Sarnia site,” the recording stated.
“Imperial will investigate the cause of the operating issue and personnel will work to restore normal operations as safely and quickly as possible.”
Imperial Oil’s official Twitter account posted the all-clear for Sarnia at 8:35 p.m.
“No fire on IOL property,” it stated. “No injuries.”
Videos and photos of the spectacular flames were widely circulated on Facebook, Twitter, and news sites like WXYZ Detroit.