Unplanned Flaring At South Bay Refinery Prompts Firefighter Response

TORRANCE, CA — Firefighters responded to an unexpected flaring incident at the Torrance Refining Company Wednesday morning, according to fire officials.

"The refinery has experienced an unplanned flaring event," Torrance city officials said in an alert just after 8 a.m.

Officials said at the time "no offsite impact has been reported."

Authorities have not released additional details about this unplanned flaring event. But a refinery spokesperson told Patch in the past that "Flares are an essential component of a refinery’s engineered safety systems designed to safely combust excess gases."

Flaring at the refinery is typically associated with the equipment and process unit startup, shutdown, maintenance and essential operational needs, according to the refinery.

Unexpected events that cause operating equipment to shut down can lead to flaring. When operations are interrupted, the refinery experiences a build-up of gases in its pipelines that increases pressure inside them, according to the refinery's website.

Standard protocol requires the refinery to notify the Torrance Fire Department and officials also notified the South Coast Air Quality Management District when unplanned flaring occurs.