25 firefighters, three engines, two ambulances, and one airboat.....

Two weeks ago the Naperville Fire department responded to a fire. It turned out to be not much different from a fireplace fire. Except that the "fireplace," in this case was 5 feet long and 8 feet wide and 25 to 30 feet deep.

Well-trained company workers and professionally-trained firefighters joined forces Wednesday afternoon to quickly contain a fire that erupted inside the Promet Processing Corp. plant in Naperville, Illinois in the United States. No one was injured in the blaze, which generated a significant amount of smoke but was confined to a machine pit. The fire chief estimated the total damage as $25,000 US.

The blaze in a pit containing aluminium shavings, carpeting remnants and other debris the fire chief reported. The first of the fire arrived within seven minutes and found "black smoke coming from the front" of the plant the fire chief added.

A manager at the facility told the firemen that "repair work was being conducted on machinery above a 25-to30 foot deep pit that contained aluminium and other combustible materials" which the fire chief estimated to 8-10 inches deep in debris.

The manager added "We had gone upstairs to have a meeting and when we were up there a spark landed on some debris, and next thing you know, it was time to roast marshmallows."

The manager stated several plant employees used on-premises fire extinguishers to quell the flames before firefighters arrived at the plant. The fire chief confirmed the plant managers statement, adding "the remaining hot materials were extinguished by fire crews."

Members of the Aurora Fire Department soon arrived with an air boat similar to those used in travel through the Everglades. The boat's over sized fan quickly blew the smoke out of the plant.

The fire chief added while the smoke was not highly toxic, "you don't want to breathe that in. You never want to breathe that in."

The plant "specializes in coil slitting of stainless steel, aluminium and other carbon-based materials." The fire chief explained "if you started a small fire in your fireplace and had some carpet in it that would be a situation comparable to what happened at the plant." 

Twelve to 14 employees were on duty at the time of the blaze, fire chief added and praised the workers who grabbed the fire extinguishers and contained the flames prior to the arrival of firefighters.

"We have a very good safety program that we run here" the plant manager comments "We make sure our people know where all the safety equipment is.... and everybody got on their horses" and did as they were expected to do during the fire."

The fire chief's analogy "if you started a small fire in your fireplace and had some carpet in it that would be a situation comparable to what happened at the plant" is somewhat perplexing. Our industry knows that fires involving aluminium dusts/fines are not in anyway similar to "a small fire..with some carpet". 

This incident illustrates the need for good housekeeping and maintenance practices. This month's Aluminium Times magazine has an article about the importance of housekeeping and maintenance in overall plant safety.

Nevertheless, as we have learned in past incidents, having access to fire extinguishers is not enough. Workers are required to be trained how to operate fire extinguishers (Here is OSHA's fire extinguisher information).

Please comment further on this incident.