Shelter-in-place advised in U.S. city of Deer Park due to tank fire

HOUSTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Local officials in Deer Park, a City in southeastern Texas, directed residents to shelter in place, as a petrochemicals terminal fire was declared as an emergency on Sunday.

"City of Deer Park issuing SHELTER-IN-PLACE emergency in Deer Park," the City wrote in a tweet at 8:58 a.m. local time. "Please take immediate action and seek shelter."

More than four hours later, the fire at the Intercontinental Terminal Company (ITC) Deer Park, about 40 km southeast of downtown Houston, remained uncontrolled.

"We're fighting the fire defensively in order to ensure it does not spread," said ITC in a press release.

According to the Deer Park Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the traffics around the ITC site, including all the access points, were closed. OEM advised people to stay indoors, close windows and doors, and keep an ear on local officials for more information.

The ITC Deer Park terminal has 13.1 million barrels of capaCity, which it uses to store all kinds of petrochemical liquids and gases, as well as fuel oil, bunker oil and distillates.