At least 15 people were killed and more than 100 injured during an explosion at a BP oil refinery in Texas City, TX, on Wednesday, March 23, 2005. The blast occurred as part of the refinery was being brought back up to full production after a two-week shutdown for routine maintenance. The March 23 incident is not the first time Texas City, TX, has been home to disaster. On April 16, 1947, a ship blew up in the port on Galveston Bay and took nearly 600 lives. Read a report from NFPA's The Quarterly (PDF 1.6 MB), July 1947.U.S. petroleum refinery fires with three or more deaths (1985-2009)
Oil refinery fires that resulted in three or more deaths
| Date |
State |
Number of deaths |
| May 1985 |
Louisiana |
7 |
| December 1985 |
California |
6 |
| November 1998 |
Washington |
6 |
| March 1991 |
Louisiana |
6 |
| October 1995 |
Pennsylvania |
5 |
| February 1999 |
California |
4 |
| December 1985 |
Louisiana |
3 |
| August 1993 |
Louisiana |
3 |
| May 1986 |
Alabama |
3 |
| January 1999 |
Arkansas |
3 |
Source: NFPA’s Fire Incident Data Organization (FIDO) database
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