WHITING, Ind. — BP plans to build a new firefighting building to protect its crude oil tank farm from potentially catastrophic fires at the BP Whiting Refinery.
The energy company is funneling $12.5 million into building a fire equipment storage facility, which will house two new fire trucks, portable pumps, foam tanks and hoses, reported the NWI Times.
The 1,400-acre refinery already has its own fire department, due to the hundreds of thousands of gallons of highly flammable liquids handled at the plant.
Some refinery employees serve as firefighters, who can be immediately called to a fire before it causes serious damage. These double-duty firefighters even help fire departments in neighboring cities.
“They have foam tankers. They’re good partners, and have been there anytime we’ve called them,” Hammond Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Margraf said of the refinery’s fire department.