Something happened on Tuesday at the Delaware City Refinery that sent three contractors to a special burn unit at Crozer Medical Center, yet neither the facility's owner, PBF Energy, nor the state is releasing many details.
On Wednesday, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Robert Fox retracted his initial statement that had described the event as an explosion.
In an emailed statement, Fox said, "Further investigation revealed that what was originally described as an explosion was actually a release of heated product under pressure."
"The plant suffered no damage and no down time of equipment," he said.
Fox did not respond to questions about where initial information about an explosion came from, what kind of "heated product" caused the burns, or how it was released.
Four hours before the retraction, PBF Energy President Matt Lucey defiantly called news reports of the event at his company's facility "extraordinary misreporting."