A decommissioned oil rig caught hearth in Alabama Wednesday, permitting “potential hazards” to spill into the water beneath, officers stated.

The multi-story rig — containing oil, diesel gas, hydraulic fluid, cardboard, insulation, and different flammable supplies — caught hearth shortly earlier than 2 p.m. on Pinto Island, a location in Cellular Bay largely devoted to shipbuilding, the Cellular Hearth Division stated.

Crews had been scrapping the previous semi-submersible platform when a lower sparked the blaze, which erupted after coming into contact with previous gas and oil, Cellular Hearth-Rescue Chief Jeremy Lami advised CBS 42.

Firefighters instantly notified native and state emergency administration departments that “hazardous supplies doubtlessly [were] washing into the River and waterways.”

Firefighters had a tough time extinguishing the 2-alarm blaze due to the platform’s roughly 12-story top and its distance from close by hydrants, the chief stated.

“The platform might be a number of 100 ft above the bottom,” Lami stated. “So any gear that we’re utilizing on high of that platform needs to be taken up there with them. So we’ve obtained to tote all that gear as much as the scene.”

The shipyard crew aided the fireplace division by piling firefighters, gear, hoses and different gear into its basket crane and transporting them to the platform, the place different firefighters have been capable of make the mandatory hose connections to determine a water provide, the MFRD stated.

The division additionally used drones and infrared cameras to detect remaining compartments of flame because the platform ground grew to become more and more unstable for firefighters to face on.

After roughly three hours, 55 firefighters and “a whole lot of gallons of water and foam,” the fireplace was extinguished.

There have been no reported accidents.

Commercial

Commercial

Advertisement

Although the blaze posed “no threat to anybody within the space,” hearth officers remained involved concerning the “potential hazards” to the atmosphere.

“What we’ve obtained is residual combined with the water and the froth that we used to battle the flames, simply kinda flowing off of the highest of the rig,” MFRD spokesperson Steven Millhouse advised reporters.

An investigation into the reason for the fireplace and its environmental influence is ongoing.