The Sergio Soto oil refinery in Cabaiguán (Sancti Spíritus) suffered a fire this Monday around two in the afternoon that set off alarms among the population. Although the fire was put out by the workers and the fire brigade and there was no material or human damage, the neighbors fear that one day something worse will happen.
“It is a hundred years old, it spreads the plague throughout the town that gives cancer. I hope they close it, that is a danger for Cabaiguan,” a resident in the area reacted with alarm to the publication in Facebook of to the Voice of Cabaiguan.
Mijail Bonachea Crespo, director of the refinery, explained that the incident occurred when a locomotive that was moving fuel tanks began to emit burning particles through its chimney that fell into a drainage ditch for the industry.
The incident occurred when a locomotive that moved fuel tanks began to emit burning particles through its chimney that fell into a drainage ditch of the industry
According to the official, the fire brigade acted quickly and managed to control the fire even before the firefighters arrived, who extinguished it completely.
After the event, a locomotive was removed from the pooches and taken to the part of the roaster, to move it away from the fuel ditch and keep it under surveillance. In addition, Bonachea Crespo added that the entire field had been sprinkled with water to prevent greater evils.
The director also said that the railway workers must review the locomotive to define the measures to be taken and to be able to start unloading that diesel.
The Sergio Soto refinery was founded in 1947 and was the first operated by the Government of Fidel Castro and the first to refine Soviet oil. The plant is the only one in the country that produces liquid asphalt and dielectric oil, as well as gasoline, solvents, diesel and fuel oil.
The official press assured last year that there were strict processes to control the environmental impact, although the residents continue to perceive the old industry as a danger.
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