Crews spent hours extinguishing diesel fire at Port Manatee overnight, officials say

It took several hours, thousands of gallons of foam and dozens of firefighters, but a fire to a large diesel fuel tank at Port Manatee on Sunday night was eventually extinguished.

“As of right now, everything out there should be normal with the exception of one less tank,” North River Fire District Chief Michael Rampino said Monday.

Port Manatee officials declined to comment Monday, directing questions to North River Fire District.

The fire was reported around 7:45 p.m. Sunday at 804 N. Dock St., and firefighters battled the blaze until about 1:30 a.m., Rampino said. The fire burned in a storage tank, known as a barrel, at a TransMontaigneoil building at the port.

Firefighters spent hours pouring about 3,000 gallons of foam over the fire to extinguish the flames, with assistance and additional foam supplies coming from Southern Manatee Fire Rescue, East Manatee Fire Rescue, City of Bradenton Fire Department and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue districts. There were at least eight apparatuses and 50 people on scene, Rampino said. No one was injured.

There were about eight inches of diesel, about 60,000 gallons, Rampino estimated, in the tank at the time. The tank could hold up to 180,000 barrels of diesel, and there are about 42 gallons in a barrel, Rampino clarified Monday.

“It’s all dangerous. Anything like that has potential to get bad,” Rampino said.

Fortunately, firefighters had several factors on their side.

“The tank’s actual structural integrity gave way and collapsed inward the way it was supposed to and put a tear in the metal roof,” Rampino said. “It’s a very old tank but it did what it was designed to do.”

The tear in the roof allowed firefighters to pour a foam blanket over the fire.

Another factor that aided crews: Wind dispersed the smoke and stormy weather was pushed to the east so they weren’t forced to work through lightning, Rampino added.

Rampino said going forward, the situation is now in the hands of Port Manatee security who will monitor the tank, which, he said, will likely need to be replaced. Over the next couple days, port authorities will have to evacuate whatever fuel is left in the bottom of the tank and the State Fire Marshal’s office will conduct an investigation.