"Actions taken by Personnel Helped Protect Their Safety.."

Here is a story that could have turned deadly, but by the actions of the employees no one was injured. Here is the  story:

An industrial machine caught fire at Alcoa Howmet Castings in the USA on Friday morning at the end of February 2013, causing molten metal to overflow onto the floor, Rockaway Township Fire Director said in a news release.

The Rockaway Township Fire Department responded to the facility at 6 a.m. on the report of an industrial machine on fire within the building, which was contained by 7:20 a.m., Rockaway Township Fire Director  said. No chemicals were released in the fire.

According to Rockaway Township Fire Director , fire crew initially dispatched Birchwood Company 4 and Ladder 2 from Mt. Hope Company 2, but additional resources were later dispatched after fire officials consulted with the Alcoa Howmet Environmental Health and Safety Manager.

Fire officials later requested additional help from Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department's HazMat team and a Rapid Intervention Crew from Dover Fire Department, Rockaway Township Fire Director  said.

After the units were on the scene and combating the fire, an additional RIC was requested from the Rockaway Borough Fire Department, he said. St. Clare's EMS was also on the scene.

Rockaway Township Fire Director  said the fire was contained to the area around a furnace that is used in a smelting process at the facility.

Alcoa's safety officer, said the metal was  actually extruded by the machine as opposed to smelted. The Alcoa facility extrudes the alloy for use in casting parts, he said. 

The molten metal overflowed from the machine and poured onto the floor where it was contained by firefighters and Alcoa Howmet employees using "Metal-X" fire extinguishers, Rockaway Township Fire Director  said. The fire was contained to the immediate area of the furnace and there were no injuries reported, he said.

Fromkin said the fire extinguishers used by Alcoa personnel — who had been operating the machine prior to the fire — and firefighters were specially designed for high-temperature molten metal.

"Actions taken by Alcoa personnel helped protect their safety and protected against property loss as well,".

All other employees were evacuated safely from the area. He added that the fire had "no impact on operations whatsoever."

Rockaway Township Fire Director  said cleanup operations would begin with the next day. 

"A decision was made to allow the furnace to cool for 24 hours before proceeding with cleanup operations," Rockaway Township Fire Director  said.

Rockaway Township Fire Marshal was requested to investigate the fire, Rockaway Township Fire Director  said. All units had cleared the scene by 7:42 a.m.

The APSB would like to congratulate the Alcoa Howmet facility in successfully dealing with this incident. 

Remember, you need to be trained to use fire extinguishers. There have been numerous incidents where improper use of a fire extinguisher have resulted in making the situation worse. 

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has some great information regarding fire extinguishers. It can be found here.

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