the fire on the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery site in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine is brought under control

An impressive fire broke out this Monday afternoon on the site of the Esso-ExxonMobil refinery, in Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine, in Seine-Maritime, France Bleu Normandie has learned. Contacted by France Bleu Normandie, Esso-ExxonMobil reported that the fire was “quickly mastered” by the company’s internal firefighters. The fire is being extinguished.

According to witnesses on site at France Bleu Normandie“thick black smoke” emerged from the refinery. The very impressive flames were visible several hundred meters away and the sirens sounded. In the afternoon, the company announced it was triggering its Internal Operations Plan (POI), the fire was quickly brought under control by the factory’s internal emergency services.

Contacted by France Bleu Normandie, Esso ExxonMobil indicates that the fire broke out around 3:25 p.m. in an oil distillation unit intended for fuel at the Esso Raffinage site. The employees of the unit affected by the disaster were confined, the other employees of the refinery were evacuated. The site is on the list of factories classified as Seveso high threshold by the Normandy Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing (Dreal).