Explosion at Newcastle Refinery Leaves Town Without Electricity, 911 Service

A heater at the Newcastle refinery exploded Wednesday evening, leaving no injuries reported but unleashing a power surge that killed the town’s electricity and 911 dispatch lines, authorities say.

The 911 services were restored by about 4:45 a.m., the Newcastle Police Department announced on its Facebook page, adding an expression of gratitude for technicians at Range Communications who worked overnight to get the equipment back online.

“As for the incident at the refinery, no injuries have been reported,” says the post. “We are thankful all staff members are safe.”

Francesca Romano lives two blocks from the refinery with her boyfriend and their 1-year-old son.

The dad and baby were sound asleep at about 10:30 when the heater blew, but Romano — a night owl — was awake.

“It was like a huge boom and it almost sounded like thunder and lighting, but the loudest thunder and lightning I’ve ever heard,” she said.

The boom rattled the entire house, and she said it crossed her mind that it could be an earthquake, but then she heard a wavelike ripple of noise “like a sonic boom” and realized something had gone wrong at the refinery.

Flashback

She looked outside and saw that the refinery’s usual stream of milky-grey smoke had turned blood-orange, and flames appeared near the bottom of the equipment.

Though she’s relatively new to the area, the locals’ tales of a 2002 refinery spill that led to a lawsuit settlement with 47 Newcastle-area residents crossed her mind.

Several people complained of skin, eye and throat irritation at that time, and suspected exposure to vanadium pentoxide.

Romano woke her boyfriend and announced she was taking their son to Rapid City, South Dakota, where she works and was able to find a place to stay. She also called her sister, Gina Romano, who lives two houses down from her.

“I said, ‘Gina, I don’t have a good feeling about this,’” Francesca Romano recalled, adding that Gina also took her kids away from the town.

Romano’s boyfriend, sleepy in bed, opted to stay home.

As Romano drove her baby away from the town, she crested an overpass-style bridge overlooking the town, and everything below her went dark.

It felt like “something out of a horror movie,” she recalled.

At the time, she just didn’t know what she didn’t know.

“So you don’t have answers, and you just kind of react and respond,” she said.

Generator On Order

Weston County Emergency Management was actively posting about the incident and interacting with local residents overnight.

The service’s director did not immediately answer a Thursday phone call, which rang interminably.

“You would think the city would be smart enough and have a backup generator since 911 and emergency services are a key to the town,” one commenter wrote under a Weston County Emergency Management statement announcing the explosion.

“Ones (sic) actually on order, 34 weeks lead time,” the service responded.

“Was it just a heater or a transformer as well?” another commenter asked.

“Just a heater/furnace,” answered Weston County Emergency Management.

In its own statement the Newcastle Police Department thanked all the officers, deputies, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and dispatchers who helped during the incident "and who help to keep our community safe every day!"

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.