Refinery Fire Exposes Emergency Alert Gaps, Sparks County Policy Review

The Feb. 1 fire at the Martinez Refining Company cast a long shadow over the Contra Costa County Industrial Safety Ordinance Ad Hoc Committee's meeting, as supervisors pressed staff on why it took hours for wireless emergency alerts to reach residents' phones — and demanded changes. Across three substantive agenda items, the committee heard that multiple fire investigations are converging toward potential enforcement action at two local refineries, while the county's emergency notification system faces its most serious scrutiny in years.

• Supervisors challenge delayed emergency alerts: The Feb. 1 refinery fire started as a Level 2 incident, meaning wireless alerts did not reach cell phones for hours — prompting a county policy review and after-action meeting

• Two MRC fire investigations enter public comment: The county's third-party probe and MRC's own root cause analysis are both open for feedback through July 25, with a full facility safety audit launching

• Soil sampling finds no public health impacts from the February refinery fire; report also in public comment

• County says existing safety ordinance covers federal recommendations for Marathon's 2023 furnace fire, but a separate gap assessment is open with a public meeting July 21

• Bay Point has only ~300 emergency alert registrations out of 26,000 residents; a resource fair is planned to boost sign-ups

• Advocates lobby Congress to save the Chemical Safety Board as the Trump administration moves to dismantle it

When the Sirens Don't Sound: February Fire Forces Reckoning on Alert System

The sharpest exchange of the meeting came during a comprehensive presentation on the Community Warning System, when both supervisors zeroed in on a single question: Why didn't the Feb. 1 Martinez Refining Company fire trigger immediate wireless emergency alerts to cell phones?

The basics: Contra Costa County's CWS is a multi-layered notification system that includes self-registration for phone, text, and email alerts; Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) sent via the federal FEMA IPAWS system; Emergency Alert System broadcasts; NOAA Weather Radio; 43 hazmat sirens; the Genesis/Zonehaven platform; social media; reverse 911 landline calls; and door-to-door notification. Leslie Monroy, CWS staff, walked the committee through each layer and explained that WEA — the pop-up alert that reaches all cell phones in a targeted area without registration — is triggered automatically only at Level 3 under the county's Hazardous Materials Incident Notification Policy.

Why it matters: The Feb. 1 fire was initially classified as Level 2, which triggered notifications only to registered users within 1,000 feet of the refinery. WEA was not activated until 5 p.m., when the incident was upgraded to Level 3 — a delay of several hours that left many residents unaware of the emergency.

Where things stand: Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston pressed the point hardest, telling staff that community members have confronted her about the delayed alerts. "You have a lot of community members that come up to me really feel as though that the alert should have been at a level three versus a level two because we didn't move it to a level three until later," she said. She pointed to the Valero refinery in neighboring Solano County as a contrast: "The incident that occurred at the Valero refinery, they went straight to shelter in place. And I just want to know how is their system different from our system?"

Tony Semenza, a representative of the community group CARE (Community Awareness Emergency Response), provided historical context, noting that when the CWS was built, industry was given authority to make the initial notification level determination. "Unfortunately, that call from Martinez Refinery when they pushed the level two, I personally think was the wrong call," he said.

Hazardous Materials Director Nicole Heath acknowledged the concern but explained the current policy framework: "The notification policy does not state that that is a trigger for using emergency alert system or WEA. It is under the discretion of the health department." She committed to action: "We will be evaluating our incident notification policy to see if there's adjustments that need to be made so that we do take the proper actions for these types of events." She confirmed an after-action review was scheduled for the following day.

Decisions: No formal vote was taken, but both supervisors directed staff to evaluate the notification policy, research how other jurisdictions — including Solano County and Torrance — handle alerts, and provide data on CWS activations broken down by hazard type and protective action. Supervisor John Gioia insisted the committee retain oversight: "I think our input on how this operates in industrial facilities, we want to be able to have input into that because we represent those areas."

A registration gap underscored the urgency. Supervisor Scales-Preston noted that Bay Point — a community of 26,000 near refineries — has only about 300 CWS registrations. She announced a resource fair planned for next month to boost sign-ups. Staff highlighted ongoing outreach, including targeted mailers to communities near refineries funded by Contra Costa Health Hazmat and the refineries in partnership with CARE, and a Comcast PSA campaign.

What's next: The after-action review and a joint CWS/Office of Emergency Services study could produce recommended changes to notification triggers for industrial incidents — changes that would come back through this committee.

MRC Fire Probes Near Completion; Full Facility Audit Launching

Hazardous Materials Director Nicole Heath updated the committee on multiple converging workstreams following the Feb. 1 fire at the Martinez Refining Company.

Where things stand: Two root cause investigations are now in 45-day public comment periods ending July 25. MRC submitted its own internal root cause analysis at the end of June, which has been posted online. Separately, the county's third-party investigation by JEM Advisors — a draft report — is also accepting comments, following a public meeting held June 17. A safety inspection conducted by Contra Costa Health's engineering team, completed March 21 with a report issued June 20, examined the refinery's compliance with the Industrial Safety Ordinance and California Accidental Release Prevention Program in the narrow timeframe around the incident.

On the health front, a county-hired toxicologist conducted soil sampling and found no public health impacts from the fire and no need for additional sampling. That report is also in public comment. "The results of the soil sampling showed that there were no impacts to public health as a result of that incident," Heath said.

The county has contracted with ERG to conduct a full facility audit of MRC's entire safety program, targeting completion in late summer or early fall 2025. The audit will be guided by root and contributing causes identified in the investigations and overseen by a committee of county health staff, MRC representatives, MRC labor, and seven community members.

Supervisor Gioia asked about enforcement teeth. Heath confirmed the county's authority is broad: "Not only do we have the authority to see implementation of action items, but we would be able to also evaluate those violations to see if additional steps need to be taken. And in the most extreme case, even up to enforcement, if they are not following the industrial safety ordinance or California Accidental Release Prevention Program."

Supervisor Scales-Preston asked about public engagement, and Heath reported that three written comments had been received with about two weeks remaining. Tony Semenza of CARE asked whether the Oversight Committee would meet to review MRC's root cause analysis, as has been done after past incidents. Heath confirmed a meeting would be scheduled after the July 25 deadline.

What's next: Public comment on both investigations and the soil sampling report closes July 25. The Oversight Committee will convene afterward to review MRC's root cause analysis, and the ERG facility audit targets late summer/early fall completion.

County Says Safety Ordinance Covers Marathon Fire Recommendations

Michael Dossey of Contra Costa Health's Hazardous Materials Division presented the U.S. Chemical Safety Board's three sets of recommendations from its investigation of the November 2023 furnace fire at Marathon's Martinez Renewables facility.

The CSB recommended that the American Petroleum Institute revise its recommended practices on instrumentation, control, and protective systems for gas-fired heaters; that Marathon Martinez Renewables implement engineering safeguards against afterburning and complete a comprehensive gap assessment; and that Marathon Corporate update its heater standards and confirm the Martinez findings.

Heath told the committee the county's existing Industrial Safety Ordinance already covers the areas addressed by the CSB. "At this point in time, I don't believe that we have identified any gaps where we would be looking to strengthen the industrial safety ordinance. But if anything changes during this process, we will bring the conversation back to this committee."

The county has separately hired a consultant to perform its own management system facility audit of Marathon, which is currently in public comment. Dossey said a public meeting is scheduled for July 21.

Supervisor Gioia raised the political backdrop, noting the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the Chemical Safety Board. Semenza reported that CARE is working with former CSB Chair John Breslin to connect him with local Congress members. "CARE's been working with John Breslin, a former chair of the Chemical Safety Board, to put him in contact with local congressmen to support ongoing work of the Chemical Safety Board and to keep it active," Semenza said.

What's next: The Marathon gap assessment public meeting is scheduled for July 21. Staff will return to the committee if the audit surfaces any findings requiring ordinance changes.

Minor Items

• Minutes approved: The committee unanimously approved minutes from its March 14 meeting (For: 2, Against: 0 — Supervisor Gioia, Supervisor Scales-Preston).

• No public comment was received on non-agenda items.