Editor’s note: This story has been updated since original publication to include the conditions of the hospitalized workers.
A fire that broke out at Renewable Energy Group’s biorefinery in Geismar around midnight sent four workers to Baton Rouge General Hospital, where the company says they’re being treated for undisclosed injuries.
Officials tell WWL-TV the injuries are non-life threatening, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. A Baton Rouge General spokeswoman says one of the workers has been discharged as of this afternoon, while one remains in serious condition, one is in critical condition and another is in good condition. They are being treated at the Baton Rouge General Regional Burn Center.
“Emergency crews quickly responded to contain the fire and it was declared completely extinguished at 4:20 a.m.,” the Ames, Iowa-based firm says in a statement issued this morning. “All employees on site have been accounted for.”
REG says one of the injured workers is an employee of the company, while the other three are contract employees.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families,” REG says in the statement.
REG acquired the biorefinery last june and it became operational again in October after having been idled by a previous owner in the fall of 2012. The company produces a biofuel called REG-9000/RHD at the plant and sells it commercially. The plant has the capacity to make upwards of 75 million gallons of renewable diesel each year from animal and waste fat. The Geismar plant is one of 10 biorefineries across the country owned by REG.
