To Deer Park residents, fire a reminder of 'like living on a fault line'

The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks Friday, March 22, 2019, in Deer Park, Texas. Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff Photographer Photo: Godofredo A. Vasquez, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 135 Caption Close To Deer Park residents, fire a reminder of 'like living on a fault line' 1 / 135 Back to Gallery

Jodie Thompson pulled over on Independence Parkway, less than a mile away from a petrochemical plant that was leaking plumes of black smoke into the sky.

In her 34 years living in Deer Park, she'd seen flares before. But this was different.

"I trust that they actually know what they're doing, but inside, I have this doubt," Thompson said Monday afternoon, watching the flames from inside the safety of her car.

The fire had raged at Intercontinental Terminals Company for more than 26 hours by the early afternoon and spread to eight holding tanks. Even after a shelter-in-place was lifted Monday morning, the fire was still expected to burn for two more days.

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The ordeal, in some ways, was part of life in Deer Park, an east Harris County city of more than 33,000 people. Residents said they were familiar with the risks that come with living by the refineries and chemical plants. At a certain point, you have to stop worrying, they said.

"You can't fret about it," said Thompson, who is 60. "What are you going to do? You choose to live here."

Holly Ball, 47, is a newer resident to Deer Park, having lived in the city for just a year. She's noticed the puffing smoke stacks at the refineries, of course, but wasn't aware of a threat like this, she said.

Like Thompson and many other residents on Monday, Ball parked her car to take photos of the smoke spreading miles west into Houston. She planned to send them to her friends in Louisiana.

"It's scary," she said. Her dog barked in the seat next to her. "It's scary."

On Facebook, people responded to official updates with more questions. They wanted to know more about what exactly was happening and what the risks were to their health.

Would the city of Deer Park be evacuated? Was it possible the plant would explode? The shelter-in-place had been in Deer Park, but what about people in the close-by city of Pasadena? And in La Porte?

Some people wrote of alarm sirens that should have gone off but haven't worked for some time. Even with the shelter-in-place lifted, looking up at the sky, it was hard for many to believe air quality was fine. Some wrote of symptoms they were experiencing.

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One person said she had trouble breathing overnight. Two others wrote of burning sensations in their eyes. Another person decided to leave the area because their child was having trouble breathing. Some said they were simply nervous to sleep.

Bernice Oehrlein, 78, pushed a cart in the morning through the Food Town grocery store in Deer Park, about 5 miles southwest of the plant. She recently had a bad bout with pneumonia, so the fire is concerning for health reasons, she said.

"I have a hard time breathing anyways," Oehrlein said.

At a Starbucks just down the road, Cindy Richards and her daughter drank coffee instead of going on their normal Monday walk.

Richards, a 67-year-old who lives in Pasadena, recalled the drive to Deer Park, before she realized a fire had clouded up the sky.

"I was like, 'It's a little overcast,'" she said. But then, "I come a little closer – 'That's smoke.'"

Richards doesn't pay too much attention to the factories anymore, although she said they used to be more top-of-mind when she lived off of Sims Bayou, closer to some of the refineries.

Her daughter, 35-year-old Robyn French, lives close to the plant in Deer Park with her husband and two children. Flares, smoke and a gassy smell have become a normal occurrence, and she knows what to do in the case of an explosion.

But French knew better than to ignore the smoke on Monday, even though she said she felt fairly safe.

She made sure Sunday and Monday that her son wasn't outside on his bike, breathing in anything possibly dangerous. And the unknown is still concerning.

"Am I still able to eat the Swiss chard and kale I'm growing in my garden?" she asked. "That's a valid question to me. Will my oranges be full of chemicals when they're full grown?"

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Heather Trevino, 42, grew up in Deer Park and lives there now with her 9-year-old daughter. She said she had taken shelter before, but didn't recall an incident as long and intense as this one.

Trevino saw the smoke rising above her neighbor's roof Sunday. Her eyes and throat itched. When she got the alert to shelter-in-place, she knew to bring in her two dogs and shut off the A/C.

Trevino faintly heard the sound of the alarms that she said are tested every Saturday at noon. She put on some movies for her daughter, who also learned in school what to do when a shelter-in-place was ordered.

"We kind of get it ingrained in us," Trevino said. "Living here, it's just kind of part of what you accept, that there's something that could possibly happen."

Thompson likened it to an earthquake-prone area.

"It's probably like living on a fault line," she said. "It doesn't happen very often, but the possibility is always there. In the back of your mind, you push it back. It's out of your control."

Anthony, a 36-year-old who works at a nearby plant, said he had to take the day off because of his workplace's proximity to ITC. He declined to give his last name because of his employer.

While Anthony said he didn't believe the air quality in the area is particularly bad because of the incident, he's still concerned of the possibility of an explosion.

"It's not anything that can really be taken lightly," he said. "There is a flash point."

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