Fuel Tank Explosion at Port Injures Worker

An explosion inside a diesel fuel storage tank at the Port of Los Angeles injured one worker and spewed a black cloud into the sky over the waterfront Thursday.

The 2 p.m. explosion curled back a piece of the circular roof of the 20,000-barrel tank, making it look like a partially opened can. The tank, owned by Greenwich, Conn.-based Ultramar Corp., contained the equivalent of about 8,000 barrels of diesel and jet fuel, company officials said.

The blast sent a contractor who was working on the roof hurtling through the air over Berth 164. Jerry Leavitt, 44, of Vista had been repairing a catwalk on the tank when he was thrown to the ground 50 feet below. He was in serious condition at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach.

Los Angeles city fire officials said Leavitt sustained multiple broken bones and cuts to his chin and left eye, but no burns.

Witnesses reported hearing a muffled boom, then seeing smoke pour out of the tank. The cause of the blast is under investigation.

Although 13 fire engines responded to the explosion, there was little in the way of flames that needed to be extinguished.

Fire officials dispatched three fireboats to the waters in front of the storage tank and a helicopter to watch for discharges. The company sent in its own fire brigade.

“Our big concern was to cool the tank” because residual heat could have caused a rupture in its side, Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

Coast Guard vessels were also sent to keep other ships from entering the area.

Across the harbor at Berth 136, where longshoremen were moving fruit shipments, about two dozen workers evacuated the docks when they were overwhelmed with smoke.

“It’s enveloped us like smog,” said longshoreman Neal Schreiner. “It smells kind of like burning rubber or burning kerosene.”

Port of Los Angeles officials said the fuel was nontoxic and that none of it seeped into the harbor. An Ultramar spokesman said the remaining fuel would be moved to another storage tank.

The facility was maintained by Tulsa, Okla.-based Matrix Service Inc., which had plans to send its own investigators to Los Angeles.

Times staff writer Jeff Leeds and correspondent Janet Wiscombe contributed to this story.