And finally, in crisis communications news: After Monday's fire at the Chrevron refinery in Richmond, Calif. sent a plume of black, toxic smoke into the air blanketing much of Richmond, North Richmond, and San Pablo, the company said they not only plan on conducting full clean-up and investigation, but also "to compensate our neighbors for medical and property expenses incurred as a result of the incident."

In a letter sent out to community members by Chevron spokeswoman Melissa Ritchie:

Dear Members of the Community: We apologize for the fire and smoke caused by yesterday’s incident. Nothing is more important than safe operations and yesterday we did not meet that expectation. The fire is now under control. We are currently working on clean-up and investigation. We will continue to work with government agencies to determine the cause of the incident and see to it that it never happens again. We will work hard to repair the refinery so that we can provide consumers with the fuel products they need. We recognize the importance of sharing information as it becomes available and plan to do so at tonight’s town hall at 6 p.m. at the Richmond Memorial Auditorium and in ongoing community updates. A claims process has been set up through Crawford and Company and we intend to compensate our neighbors for medical and property expenses incurred as a result of the incident. We will also see to it that communities will be reimbursed for the costs they face for emergency personnel who responded to last night’s incident. If you wish to file a claim please call 866-260-7881. We will respond to these claims as promptly as possible.

At the same time, we are continuing to work with community leaders and City officials to make things right. We value their input and, as a long-standing member of the Richmond community for more than a hundred years, we are committed to the success of this City.

We thank the firefighters and first-responders - including those from other companies and cities. Their courage and professionalism made the best of a difficult situation.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call 510-242-2000.

Previously: Toxic Chevron Refinery Fire in Richmond Prompts Shelter-in-Place