"“hydraulic line break..atomized hydraulic fluid, contacted a hot surface"

The use of flammable hydraulic fluid is not recommended in our industry. Nevertheless, many plants have told us “we’ve never had an issue with hydraulic oil, why should we change?” Our response is “we acknowledge that you had no issues but when you have a hydraulic leak and a fire results. It will be too late...” Here is a recent incident emphasizing the hazard of flammable hydraulic fluid.

A plant that produces aluminum aircraft parts in a city in the USA erupted into flames Wednesday and firefighters from four departments spent hours putting them out, authorities said.

The fire was reported about 1:25 on the last week of December 2018 at an aluminium company local fire department captain told local news media.

When the battalion chief arrived, he immediately ordered a third-alarm response "due to the size and intensity of the fire," local fire department captain said.

The 55 firefighters from four (4) fire departments surrounded the structure and fought a defensive battle from outside with aerial ladders and large volume hose streams, he said.

While an official knockdown time was not announced, the firefighter force was reduced and mop up was underway before 4 a.m., local fire department captain said. No civilians or firefighters were injured, he said.

Workers were inside the building when the fire broke out and got out safely, local fire department captain said. They told firefighters a hydraulic line broke and sprayed fluid on a hot surface, touching off the fire, he said. Investigators were working to confirm that chain of events.

Firefighters were concerned about a large propane tank in the rear and hazardous materials inside but they proved not to be an issue, local fire department captain said.

A city building official will evaluate the integrity of the remaining structure, he said.

We are so thankful that the workers in the plant were able to evacuate safely. We are also thankful that no firefighters were injured or killed extinguishing this fire. Why were no firefighters injured during this incident? Because of training and we assume that the aluminium workers told the firefighters that the building was empty of workers. It is very important for workers to know how many of their coworkers are in their plant during off periods such as holidays, weekend, etc. This incident occurred during a holiday period where few workers were in the premises.

We pray that this plant can rebuild and come back stronger.

The reader should ask the maintenance department in your plant(s) if flammable hydraulic fluid is being used. If your maintenance department does not know then I would suggest reviewing the material safety data

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