“Hit by fire” in this climate is just an irresponsible headline. The article says the fire was probably caused by an industrial heater.
I came here looking for an article because my twitter timeline was full of conspiracies that this was somehow an attack by Iran. The headline could be interpreted like the refinery was hit by an attack or something.
505
blackweebowMar 24, 2026
+64
Unexpected fuckery from Reuters
>Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger
To these editors: this was some bullshit.
64
Great-Hotel-7820Mar 24, 2026
+22
Reuters has been dogshit for a while now.
22
IntotheBroadwayWoodsMar 24, 2026
+131
Seriously, they knew what they were doing.
131
VoderamaMar 24, 2026
+44
Unbelievably disingenuous and irresponsible. Thanks for calling it out asap
44
klitchellMar 24, 2026
+4
That is the definition of clickbait
4
[deleted]Mar 24, 2026
-5
[deleted]
-5
TheBunnyDemonMar 24, 2026
+10
This shitty headline aside, Reuters is one of the only good news organizations left.
10
dotcomseMar 24, 2026
-6
If only those reporters wrote stories that you could click on the headline to read! Why do they only write headlines?!
-6
junkyardgerardMar 24, 2026
-8
Well there's your problem will have to tell us
-8
EtzellMar 24, 2026
+239
>The explosion was likely caused by an industrial heater, CBS affiliate KFDM reported.
Since there's going to be endless speculation from people who didn't click the link.
239
PurplePangoMar 24, 2026
+149
“Hit by fire” is a borderline irresponsible way to word that headline
149
SuppleLobsterMar 24, 2026
+50
Nothing borderline about it. It's just irresponsible. Anything for clicks. Shame on Reuters I expected better from them
50
Coherent_TangentMar 24, 2026
+7
Exactly, my mind immediately thought "friendly fire" or "enemy fire"?
7
Wonder_WeenisMar 24, 2026
+5
Doesn't answer my question, was it a networked industrial heater?
5
HowManyEggs2ManyMar 24, 2026
+4
Airgapped but those crafty Iranian spies worked overtime on this one
4
jackalopeDevMar 24, 2026
+12
while i think jumping to conclusions would be bad in this situation, airgapped doesn't mean impossible to hack. Hell, stuxnet targeted airgapped centrifuges.
12
Everythings_FuckedMar 24, 2026
+4
All you need to do is get one idiot to pick up a "dropped" usb drive and plug it into an airgapped machine to get around that. Maybe mark it "bitcoin wallet" to really set the hook.
4
Adventurous_Front939Mar 24, 2026
+1
Why would you plug a found usb drive marked "Bitcoin Wallet" into a work PC................................................... That would be counter productive...........
1
Everythings_FuckedMar 24, 2026
+1
Remember, we're targeting idiots. Or people with more curiosity than sense.
1
Adventurous_Front939Mar 24, 2026
Yeah and they would explore that curiosity away from their employer. I agree on the dropped usb but the bitcoin wallet wouldnt be a good addition
0
Wonder_WeenisMar 24, 2026
+1
while people still don't know exactly what happened...
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/08/18/apple-reportedly-worked-with-us-doe-contractor-on-top-secret-ipod
1
ImOnTheSpectrumMar 24, 2026
+12
Highly doubt people would react without all of the information /s
12
WatchingYouWatchMe2Mar 24, 2026
+4
Kill fuckin Depeche mode got into the news business eh......
4
Busy-Dig8619Mar 24, 2026
+3
Literally all the comments are saying what youre saying so far...
3
EtzellMar 24, 2026
-1
Yeah, strange how they all came after mine.
-1
Busy-Dig8619Mar 24, 2026
+5
That's generally how time works...
5
ExZowieAgentMar 24, 2026
+3
But is it on your side?
3
azsnazMar 24, 2026
+2
It's certainly on a side of mine
2
Busy-Dig8619Mar 24, 2026
+1
Yes it is!
1
TheBunnyDemonMar 24, 2026
+2
"This is the story of how I almost died."
2
KingMario05Mar 24, 2026
+2
Thank God for that. Obviously, hope no one's hurt. But I was worried it was so much worse. Just an industrial accident.
2
travioMar 24, 2026
+2
False flag is trending on Twitter, so you know the kooks are already out.
2
into_the_soilMar 24, 2026
+1
It's likely a guarantee that someone's bigoted family member is already on Facebook right now talking about how an Iranian ISIS sleeper cell that got into Texas via Biden's open border has attacked us.
1
TsukariYoshiMar 24, 2026
I wonder if it was an actual industrial heater or an "industrial heater" in the vein of Russian "careless cigarette" fires.
0
johnn48Mar 25, 2026
+1
Thanks for the heads up, here I thought it was a Iranian drone. I’ve gotten lazy cause inevitably I run into a paywall and can’t read the article.
1
zxernMar 24, 2026
+14
Something like this happens at least once a year around this time it seems.
14
kookaburra464Mar 24, 2026
I get you, but that's still not ok...
0
BaldWeagle10Mar 24, 2026
+26
lol, the headline makes it sound like someone shot at the refinery. But the fire started after an industrial heater exploded.
26
d0ctorzaiusMar 24, 2026
+17
Between deliberately inflammatory (ha) headlines like this and their increasing use of paywalls, we've gotta stop taking Reuters seriously.
17
Taurius2Mar 24, 2026
+13
A reminder that Valero has had hundreds of violations in the few decades they have been operational. This is just another Tuesday for them.
https://news.oilandgaswatch.org/post/three-texas-oil-gas-industry-sites-that-caught-fire-had-long-violation-records
13
StretchExtensionMar 24, 2026
+17
US outdated infrastructure is a bigger threat than any Iranian sleeper cells
17
Everythings_FuckedMar 24, 2026
+2
But put the two of them together and it's a force multiplier.
2
travioMar 24, 2026
+1
AI might make this worse. So much of our outdated infrastructure is reliant on equally outdated software written in outdated languages most people have never used.
[AI is good at finding obscure bugs](https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-finds-hidden-bugs-old-code/). That could be exploited.
1
ZonaDesertRatMar 24, 2026
+3
Tack another dollar on the price of gas folks...
3
tommccabeMar 24, 2026
+10
"refinery hit by fire" written by the same person who wrote "cyclist hit by car" and "suspect struck by bullet"
10
SeastepMar 24, 2026
+6
I grew up there. While this kind of thing happens from time to time, I'm sure a few buttholes puckered given the current environment.
And I hope it made some people question some choices.
6
red_beeredMar 24, 2026
+5
Ah yes, this was " hit by fire ", while that aircraft carrier had a "laundry fire "
5
rooftopgoblinMar 24, 2026
-1
that fire took longer to fight and caused more damage than the fire on the USS Forrestal, which makes the idea that it was a laundry fire even more ridiculous
-1
PigFarmer1Mar 24, 2026
+2
Guess what? It's another excuse to raise gas prices...
2
GricekkkMar 24, 2026
+2
Why are they deleting all the posts that talk about this?
2
djwdiggerMar 24, 2026
+1
Price of crude dropped yesterday.
Big oil needed an excuse to keep prices inflated
1
O-parkerMar 24, 2026
+1
Will be another excuse to up fuel prices
1
domomymomoMar 24, 2026
Happens multiple times a year. Not a big news.
0
PlaygroundBullyMar 24, 2026
-3
Anyone checked Iran's twitter to make sure they arent taking credit?
57 Comments