4 employees injured in morning fire at southeast Kansas oil refinery

Four workers at an oil refinery in southeast Kansas were burned Tuesday in an early morning fire, the Texas company said.

CVR Refining said in a news release that the fire at its Coffeyville refinery was reported at 12:30 a.m. and extinguished by 1:18 a.m. The refinery was shut down and initial reports indicate there was no impact to the surrounding community.

The company isn't naming the workers who were hurt and taken to an area hospital, but said all other employees were accounted for at this time.

"CVR Refining personnel express their deepest concern for and are currently providing assistance to the injured employees and their families," the company said.

The Sugar Land, Texas-based limited partnership owns and operates petroleum refining and auxiliary businesses. Its crude oil refinery in Coffeyville has a rated capacity of 115,000 barrels per day, according to its website. The company also owns a refinery in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, which can produce 70,000 barrels per day.

Its Wynnewood refinery was the site of an explosion in September 2012 that killed two Oklahoma workers, Billy Smith and Russell Mann, when a large boiler exploded.

The Coffeyville refinery was the site of an oil spill during the 2007 flood that blanketed about a third of the southeast Kansas community. The city was flooded when the Verdigris River topped its banks in late June 2007. A malfunction while workers were trying to shut down the inundated refinery caused a massive oil leak into the floodwaters, coating homes and businesses.