BP has confirmed the death of two of its staff during a fire at the BP-Husky Toledo refinery in Oregon, Ohio, on Tuesday evening.
Family confirmed to local news sources that the two men were brothers, Max and Ben Morrissey, 34 and 32 respectively.
Local union representatives also confirmed they were members of the United Steelworkers District One Local 346.
In a statement, BP said: “It is with deep sadness we report that two bp staff injured in a fire at the bp-Husky Toledo Refinery have passed away. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of these two individuals.
“All other staff is accounted for and our employee assistance team is on site in Toledo to support our employees impacted by this tragedy.”
The supermajor said it worked closely with local fire crews in addition to its own fire department, who were mobilised at around 1830. The blaze was later extinguished by around 22:15 EST on Tuesday evening.
Local news sources show the extent of the blaze.
New video of the fire at the BP Toledo refinery pic.twitter.com/bvowa3v2f9
— Josh Croup 13abc (@JoshCroup) September 20, 2022
The facility was safely shut down and remained offline on Wednesday.
The refinery, located just east of Toledo on the western tip of Lake Erie, can process around 160,000 barrels of oil per day and employs about 800 BP staff.
BP said it would continue to update local, state and federal officials.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials arrived at the site on Wednesday.
The fire comes just over a month after the energy giant agreed to sell its 50% interest in the plant to joint venture partner Cenovus Energy, as part of a $300 million deal, plus other customary adjustments for inventory.
At the time, BP said the two would also enter into a “multi-year product supply agreement” as a result of the deal.
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