Co-op investigating cause of fire that left two injured at Regina refinery

Federated Co-operatives Limited is investigating the cause of an explosion and fire early on Tuesday morning at Regina’s Co-op Refinery Complex, leaving two workers with minor injuries.

In a statement, Co-op said the emergency has ended and the company has given the “all clear” on the site following the fire within one of the refinery’s process units.

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“The fire was isolated to a specific unit in the Refinery and that unit is shut down and in a safe state. The rest of the Refinery remains operational and producing fuel,” Co-op’s statement read.

“The Refinery’s emergency response team was able to act quickly and bring the incident under control. We thank the Regina Fire Department for their immediate assistance as their teams worked with us to successfully contain the incident.”

“The incident has been contained and the impacted area has been stabilized,” Federated Co-operatives Limited said in a statement. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

Two workers were assessed for minor injuries following the fire, Co-op said on Tuesday, and all employees were accounted for.

The fire is now under investigation, the company said, and more information will be shared “as it arises.” Co-op thanked the public for its patience as it works to determine the cause of the blaze.

“Our initial assessment is that an explosive ignition occurred as the result of a leak,” the company said in a statement sent to 980 CJME.

Multiple people living near the refinery reported hearing the sound of a large explosion at around 4:45 a.m. on Tuesday morning just as the fire broke out.

“I actually thought the house was falling down,” Bev Ollinger told 980 CJME. “That’s how loud it was.”

Nikita Garner said the way her home shook was similar to earthquakes she experienced when she lived in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“My heart was racing and the dogs got all bothered, but then after that, it was just silent,” she said. “We could hear the train horns. We could hear police sirens.”