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 health officials had not seen a spike in emergency-room reports tied to the incident. "We have not seen reports from local EDs about respiratory patients associated with this incident," Doctor Zavelli said, while adding that identifying what burned will determine long-term risks and that the county was awaiting the refinery's 72-hour incident report.

Martinez Refining Company s represented by public information officer Brandon Mattson pologized to residents and described the probable mechanism: workers preparing a process unit for maintenance likely opened equipment and a hydrocarbon leak ignited around 1:30 a.m., he said. "We are truly sorry for this incident and the impact that we've had," Mattson said, pointing to a company phone bank and an offer to meet community groups and investigators.

Residents, elected officials and community groups pressed the board for stronger oversight. Martinez Mayor Brianne Zorn reminded supervisors that while the refinery bears the city name it sits in unincorporated Contra Costa County and is subject to the county's industrial safety ordinance. "The county board of supervisors has the authority and jurisdiction over MRC and the responsibility to force this much needed change," she said.

Numerous public commenters described evacuations, respiratory symptoms and a breakdown in timely, consistent information. "My children were crying," resident Sarah Brooks told the board. Community organizations, including Healthy Martinez, demanded a Chemical Safety Board investigation, a county-led full facility audit under the Industrial Safety Ordinance and town halls to answer residents' questions.

Board members said county staff would move to secure independent investigators, review the community warning system's performance, coordinate with the Air District and the unified command, and pursue an after-action review. Supervisor Chanel Scales Preston, who was on-site during the response, announced requests for a full facility audit and vowed to convene a town hall once more details were available.

Fire and mutual-aid chiefs described a coordinated industrial response and decontamination for people evacuated from the site. Health officials said four people were transported from the scene with noncritical injuries and later released; refinery representatives said six workers were evaluated and released.

County staff said they had begun arranging county-led reviews and would seek contracts for independent investigators "much more swiftly" than in past incidents. Officials also warned that some laboratory analysis for volatile organic compounds may take several days.

Next steps: the county is expecting a 72-hour report from the refinery, additional air-district laboratory results, a county-contracted independent investigation, and an ISO (Industrial Safety Ordinance) committee review. Supervisors and city officials pledged town halls and further briefings as results become available.