Neighbors to Chevron El Segundo Refinery Fire File Suit with Potter Handy LLP

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearby residents saw extreme asthma flare-ups and other physical harm after Chevron’s El Segundo refinery explosion spewed smoke, fire, pollutants into the air on October 2, according to class action attorneys of the California law firm Potter Handy LLP.

Plaintiff and Hawthorne resident Tatian Coleman suffered a severe asthma flareup immediately after the explosion filled the air with heavy smoke and fumes. Potter Handy attorneys filed a class action late Friday night on Coleman’s behalf, seeking to represent all Los Angeles County residents who reside within a five-mile radius of the Refinery who suffered physical or economic harm caused by the smoke and fumes from the Refinery fire on October 2, 2025 (hereinafter the “Class”).

The Chevron refinery is massive, producing a fifth of all motor vehicle fuels and 40% of the jet fuel consumed in southern California. It is surrounded on three sides by residential neighborhoods, with Grand View Elementary school in Manhattan Beach less than a mile from its southernmost edge and El Segundo High School less than half a mile away from its northernmost edge.

This is not the first time this refinery has run into trouble. In 2016, a fire burned several storage containers at the Refinery. On October 17, 2017, a fire broke out in the facility’s distribution manifold, which set off massive flames near storage tanks and power lines. Less than a year later, on September 17, 2018, a burn-off at the facility was triggered by a power failure at the refinery. And yet another massive fire occurred in a section of the Refinery on November 8, 2022.

“The negligent operation of this refinery is regularly putting the people of these nearby communities at risk,” said Partner Mark Potter. “We have to demand better for the health and safety of our children and all our residents.”

For more information on this case, please contact Potter Handy at 415-534-1911.