AN EXPLOSION AND fire ripped through Canada’s largest refinery today in what the company which owns it called a “major incident”. It is not yet known if there were casualties from the blast and fire at the Irving Oil refinery in St John, New Brunswick. Images posted on social media networks showed intermittent flames and a column of black smoke rising from the refinery, the country’s largest with a production capacity of 300,000 barrels of refined products a day. Rob Beebe, who lives near the refinery, told Radio Canada he felt his house shake, followed by a blast. The company confirmed on Twitter that a “major incident” occurred at the refinery.“We are actively assessing the situation at this time and will share more information when available,” it said.