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Many Philadelphians woke to a terrifying scene early Friday morning: a fireball sent into the air from a massive explosion at a South Philly oil refinery.
No one was injured in the explosion and subsequent fire, which was reported around 4 a.m. and burned for hours, but many area residents were told to stay in their homes until the scene was deemed safe around 7 a.m. It’s unclear what caused the incident, but officials say that a vat of butane exploded at the refinery on the 3100 block of West Passyunk Avenue.
In the hours following the explosion, many onlookers took to social media to document the blaze, which could be seen from miles away. Below, check out some of the first reactions to the early morning fire:
Some viewers caught images of the explosion as it happened, and in the immediate aftermath:
#Philadelphie huge explosion rocks oil refinery @ChristneMattson pic.twitter.com/TcyAn3LRNp
— Firdaus (@firdausazeem) June 21, 2019
Social media users reported hearing and seeing several explosions:
South Philly Pictures of Fire three loud explosion pic.twitter.com/vAauSWJQXm
— Nick (@NSpadano3189) June 21, 2019
THERE WAS JUST A THIRD EXPLOSION THAT LIT UP ALL OF SOUTH PHILLY
— britty buckets (@britttytitty) June 21, 2019
Fireball on the 4th explosion #fire #philly #Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/kK9JQoGcX9
— Michael Rybar (@MichaelRybar) June 21, 2019
Others showed just how far away the explosion could be seen
Oil refinery explosion in South Philadelphia viewed from hotel. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/3IvLpsx0vP
— Lee Ferris (@ferrisphotos) June 21, 2019
Weather experts jumped into action, showing that the heat from the explosion was visible by satellite:
This morning, one of our forecasters noticed that the refinery explosion in #Philadelphia was captured on satellite. The heat signature is so large and hot it could be detected using infrared imagery. pic.twitter.com/2zTcSM8n5U
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) June 21, 2019
Refinery explosion/fire in south Philly this morning clearly visible on GOES-East IR image. Black blotch due to the intense heat frmo the event. @katiefehlinger @ChandlerCBS3 @MPetersonWx @katebilo @LaurenCBS3 @ChelseaWeather @EasternChaser pic.twitter.com/6GGuMQi7BA
— Lou ️ Ruh (@wx3i) June 21, 2019
Some expressed concern for PES workers and residents in the area following the blaze:
Prayers for our Brothers and Sisters this morning as they deal with this situation!!
— Refinery Workers (@USW10234) June 21, 2019
Massive Fire, Explosions at South Philadelphia Refinery; Roads Closed https://t.co/AhWrBm1o2n via @nbcphiladelphia
By daylight, social media users were still documenting the effects—namely a dark plume of black smoke—seen from the fire: