In the case of Sterling Oil, safety must come first

Patience.
That’s what we suggest the folks at Sterling Oil get used to while waiting for the city to sign off on their plan to install eight new fuel tanks.
By the way one of the owners reacted to the City Council’s wish to have the Fire Department look into installing a fire safety system, you’d think the city was not being business-friendly.
Considering that one of the fuel tanks at the Sterling plant exploded and caused a massive fire last August, it’s in the best interest of everyone to proceed cautiously. That fire had the potential to devastate the neighborhood near the plant and also posed a serious threat to the lives of firefighters.
It’s puzzling how tone-deaf the company is to the community’s concerns. But we stress that ultimately the city should approve the installation of the new tanks because, yes, this is a tax-paying company and a company that has performed safely in the past.
That fire proved that the city and the Fire Department had a well-organized safety plan to combat a fire of that size. Detroit and Wayne County safety workers came to the aid of Hamtramck as planned.
Insisting that additional safety steps be taken is not an unreasonable requirement.
We wish Sterling Oil well in the future and welcome its expansion. It’s just that matters like this require a little more time and little more scrutiny.