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July 19, 2006

Update: Press conference on port fire reveals little /Photo

Journal photo / John Freidah
Hours after a fire at its docking site in Providence, the oil tanker Nordeuropa sits today sits just north of the Pell Bridge in Narragansett Bay.

PROVIDENCE -- Little new information emerged at a news conference this afternoon about last night's fire at the Port of Providence.

Coast Guard Capt. Roy Nash said there could be fines assessed if the investigation of the fire determines that any regulations were violated.

But virtually everyone at the news conference -- held in the parking lot of the Motiva Enterprises' facility at 500 Allens Ave. -- avoided questions about whether it was wise to unload gasoline as a powerful thunderstorm bore down on the area.

Robert Schaefer, a Motiva spokesman, would not speculate on the thinking of the crew that unloaded the fuel last night. "I was not here during that storm," Shaefer said.

The cause of the fire has not been determined although Nash said this morning it may be connected to the severe weather.

-- With reports from projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 6:00 PM | Permalink

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