BLAST ROCKS TEXACO : NO INJURIES REPORTED AT HARBOR PLANT.

Byline: Associated Press

An explosion at a Texaco refinery rocked the harbor area Monday and ignited an intense, 90-minute fire in a processing unit. There were no injuries and no evacuations.

The cause of the explosion wasn't immediately known, but city Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there was no reason to suspect sabotage.

Texaco has been the target of scrutiny recently because oil company executives are accused of making racial remarks on an audio tape that surfaced in a $520 million discrimination lawsuit filed by nearly 1,500 African-American employees.

``Despite massive speculation by TV stations that this may have been an act of sabotage, we have no indication this was a deliberate act,'' Humphrey said.

Texaco spokeswoman Kelly McAndrew said the chance of sabotage was ``absolutely zero,'' adding, ``The cause will be fully investigated.''

The concussion from the 7:24 a.m. explosion rattled windows and shook houses within five miles of the refinery located in Wilmington, an industrial district 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.

``It was like the jolt of an earthquake. My whole apartment shook,'' an area resident told KTLA-TV.

A plume of black smoke rose thousands of feet and could be seen for 10 miles on a clear Southern California morning.

More than 150 firefighters responded. Streams of water and smothering foam were trained on the fire to prevent flames from spreading to nearby equipment and storage tanks, Humphrey said.

It was contained an hour later, and the smoke dissipated by 9 a.m. Humphrey said firefighters and arson investigators - called in whenever damage exceeds $25,000 - were making their way through the tons of twisted metal.

The fire did not involve any of the refinery's storage tanks.

It was far less serious than an explosion and fire that rocked the same Texaco refinery on Oct. 8, 1992. Sixteen workers were hurt, windows were shattered for miles and 600 people were chased from their homes in that blast.

The explosion occurred in what is known as a hydro-treater, a complex that separates sulfur and hydrocarbons from oil, said Texaco spokesman Larry Rodriguez.

Humphrey praised Texaco's firefighting crew and automatic devices that activate when a fire erupts.

``Considering the billions of gallons that move through the port of Los Angeles, these incidents are few and far between,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Refinery workers watch as flames rise from a Texaco refining structure Monday.

Associated Press