"ignited by about 1,000 tons of aluminum..."

 

The storage of aluminium fines, dross, etc. is a hazard that many fail to realize until a fire breaks out. Here is a recent story of a fire of waste aluminium fines that took a long time to extinguish.

The fire at the (name omitted) factory has been extinguished for 12 hours... Injured factory officials in their 40s

(local) Fire Department, "Focusing on simultaneous firefighting work to take out internal loads... It will take a long time to complete the disease"

News media reported “At around 9:15 am on the 5th, a fire broke out at an industrial wear resistant manufacturing plant located in (name omitted), and the (local) Fire Department has been extinguishing it for 12 hours.

According to the (regional) Fire Headquarters, the fire department is putting all its efforts into extinguishing the fire by deploying 39 firefighting personnel and 18 firefighting equipment such as excavators.

At around 9:15 am on the 5th, a fire broke out at an industrial wear resistant manufacturing plant located from (five) Fire Departments has been extinguishing it for 12 hours.

The fire was reportedly ignited by about 1,000 tons of aluminum dust inside the factory.

The fire authorities are using sand and expanded vermiculite to extinguish large fires, while mobilizing equipment such as excavators to take out the loads.

It was reported that one factory official in his 40s was injured in the fire.

An official of the (local) Fire Department said, "We are carrying out the work of removing internal loads and extinguishing the fire at the same time," and "It is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time to completely extinguish the fire."

We pray that the injured worker recovers fully from their injuries. Though the news article states “dust” we feel that this was a fire that started in dross storage area. No doubt with a 1000 tons there the fire if not addressed would have burned for a very long time.

The only way a dross fire can be extinguished is by smothering the fire with inert material. We have seen sand, soil, stones, etc. used to extinguish a dross fire.

It is important to know water cannot be used as it will result in a chemical reaction that could result in an explosion.