Valero refinery plant rupture, fire kills 1, injures 3

Officials say one refinery worker has died after being exposed to a hazardous substance at the Valero refinery plant on Presidents Island in Memphis. The refinery fire injured a Valero employee and a contracted worker. Two Memphis firefighters were also treated for minor exposure to the chemical mixture of propane and hydrofluoric acid. The firefighters were exposed after performing CPR on the employees. Memphis Fire Department spokesman Lt. Wayne Cooke says the workers were exposed to the propane and hydrofluoric acid mixture when a sight glass on a pump unit ruptured. Firefighters were dispatched at 9 a.m. to 2385 Riverport and had the fire extinguished within 40 minutes, Lt. Cooke added.