The mayor of Come By Chance says the town is pulling together to support the eight workers injured in Friday’s refinery fire, as well as their families.

Five of the eight employees had to be airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s due to the severity of their injuries. The others were being treated at the hospital in Clarenville.

The incident occurred just after 4:00 p.m. Friday when the eight were caught in what some workers have described as a flash fire, or backdraft, but it’s not yet clear what caused it.

It also remains to be seen how much damage was caused to the refinery itself, although Mayor Carol Molloy says that places a distant second in terms of immediate concern.

She says the focus right now is 100 per cent on the recovery and well-being of the injured workers, their co-workers, and their families.

The incident brings to mind the 1998 refinery fire that killed two workers and left another injured.

It also comes at a time of renewed optimism for the half-century-old facility, which is in the process of transitioning to a producer of diesel and renewable aviation fuels.

New owner Braya Renewable Fuels says it’s co-operating with investigations into the incident, and has also offered the workers and town any support it needs.