Oil Well Tank Burns At Purcell

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) -- A faulty heat exchanger is being blamed for a fire that sent flames soaring hundreds of feet into the air at an oil well tank in Purcell.<br/><br/>No one was injured in Sunday's

Monday, August 7th 2006, 9:33 am

By: News On 6

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) -- A faulty heat exchanger is being blamed for a fire that sent flames soaring hundreds of feet into the air at an oil well tank in Purcell.

No one was injured in Sunday's blaze. It was brought under control within an hour but alarmed residents of a nearby housing project.

Jane Wilbanks' house was within yards of the fire. Wilbanks and her neighbors sat in lawn chairs and monitored the blaze as firefighters from Purcell, Wayne, Lexington and Goldsby battled it.

Purcell City Manager Eric Johnson says the blaze was hot and intense. Johnson says four firefighters reached the well head within minutes of arriving at the fire. Once the heat source was shut off, the blaze was containable.