Martinez refinery fire triggers county health advisory and calls for independent investigations

Contra Costa County supervisors held an emergency update Feb. 4 after a large fire at Martinez Refining Company over the weekend that prompted a county health advisory and a Level 3 public-safety escalation in nearby neighborhoods.

County health officials said the department first learned of the incident on Saturday at about 1:49 p.m., immediately mobilized hazardous-materials and air-monitoring teams and issued an initial health advisory for people with respiratory sensitivities. "We sent 13 scientists, engineers, leadership, many of which were not even on call, to respond to this incident," Deputy Health Director Matt Kaufman said, describing continuous field monitoring and a later decision with unified command to expand the advisory area and activate sirens where shelter-in-place orders were in effect.

The health officer said most initial air measurements for sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and PM2.5 were "basically the same as normal background," and that…