Explosion and Fire near McKittrick

McKittrick, CA -- Just after 5:00 P.M. on January 24, 2012, Kern County Firefighters received a call for a fire following an explosion near the intersection of Highway 33 and Lost Hills Road at an Aera oil processing facility. Approximately twenty firefighters responded to the incident, including five from the Kern County Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Upon arrival, firefighters were faced with an established fire that had engulfed a vacuum truck and spread to a loading rack nearby. Crews were able to deploy hose lines and gain control of the fire in just under an hour and a half. The Kern County Fire Department's Hazardous Materials Response Team along with personnel from Kern County Environmental Health were used at the scene to identify and mitigate any potential associated hazards with the flammable materials involved in the explosion.

An unidentified person was operating the vacuum truck at the time of the explosion but was not hurt. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the explosion and fire are under investigation and damage estimates are not yet available.

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• fire
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