A worker has been injured in an explosion at a oil and gas drilling site in Weld County, Colorado, on Friday 22 December 2017. The incident happened slightly before 9.00 pm at the Extraction Oil & Gas operated plant, which is on the outskirts of the city of Windsor, triggering multiple fires which were not all extinguished until 1.00 pm the next day. The cause of the incident is still being investigated.
Fires burning at an oil drilling facility outside Windsor, Colorado, on 22 December 2017. Fox 31 Denver.
Firefighters from Windsor Severance Fire Rescue who attended the site initially had trouble controlling the fire, due to an absence of fire hydrants at the facility, which required them to divert water from a main providing domestic supplies. The fire was eventually brought under control with the aid of firefighters from several neighbouring services, using a foam extinguishing agent that covers burning material, excluding oxygen from the sites of the fire. About 7275 litres of this substance were used, which since it is diluted with water before use, would indicate the use of about 150 000 litres of water.
Column of smoke and fire over an oil drilling facility outside Windsor, Colorado, on 22 December 2017. Hyrum Griffin/The Coloradoan.
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