Heavy smoke could be seen pouring from a South Philadelphia refinery Friday evening.
The fire broke out at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery's Girard Point facility (commonly known as the Sunoco Refinery) along W Penrose Avenues around 5:40 p.m., said said refinery spokeswoman Cherice Corley.
"You see the big cloud of black smoke over hear in the skyline," said Jamie Shirley who lives nearby.
There were no reports of injuries in the one-alarm fire, said Philadelphia firefighters.
As SkyForce10 hovered overhead, crews could be seen dousing the flames, which burned along Schuylkill River. After about 20 minutes, crews appeared to have knocked down the flames and smoke seemed to recede. After an hour, the fire was declared under control.
Corley said the fire remained contained to the refinery site.
the refinery has been in place for about 150 years, according to PES' website. PES purchased the site in 2012 as apart of a partnership between the Carlyle Group and Sunoco Inc.
This isn't the first time in recent years that fire broke out at the oil refinery. Back in January, an operational issue caused black smoke to rise from the facility. The facility then reported a flare-up about a month later.
Living in the shadow of the refinery, some residents fear for the worst.
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"I think about it all the time, is it going to blow up?" Shirley said.
