Six fire departments respond to....

Small fires can grow quickly and become large fires. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a story how a small fire almost got out of control. Here's the story:

During the week of June 9 a major fire erupted at the Hydro Aluminum plant in Monett, Missouri in the United States around 3:45 PM that resulted in six fire departments responding.

The fire developed in the insulation of the roof in what had been used as the paint building. Built in the mid-1980's the structure has been out of use since October, 2012 when Hydro shut down its extrusion operations.

According to the Hydro plant manager, crews have been working in the building removing all of the old paint line equipment.

Monett firefighters on the roof of the paint building at Hydro Aluminum poured water into the structure as other firefighters inside poured water into the insulation from below to drown the fire that erupted under the roof.

"We were in the last hour of the project," plant manager said. Contractors and maintenance people inside the building alerted management to the fire. Sixty people still work in the remelt division of the plant, located on the northwest end of the complex. The remelt crew and administration  located in recently completed offices on the south side of the plant were evacuated. The fire sent a dark plume of smoke 100 feet into the air.

With a fire hose hooked to a hydrant on the east side of Industrial Drive, a Monett fire truck drove into the Hydro Aluminum plant on June 14 to begin battling the blaze in the former paint building.

Monett City and rural firefighters responded immediately to the scene. Pierce City Fire District firefighters responded as well. The plant manager said the building had been gutted of its equipment, how the fire started was unclear.

A heavy crane used earlier to remove equipment from the paint building at the Hydro Aluminum plant helped strip material off the roof of the burning structure as firefighters attempted to access the burning insulation under the roof.

"There was nothing on the ground to go up," plant manager said. Firefighters attacked the fire from below and above. The building was covered with a rubber membrane which proved difficult to penetrate. Smoke vented through several places as firemen tried to access where the fire burned. Fumes from years of painting may have made the insulation more flammable, plant manager said, but he would defer to the experts about what caused the fire.

Fire Chief called for additional manpower from the Purdy Fire District and the Aurora Fire Department to switch out firefighters. Freistatt firefighters came to staff Monett's station in case additional calls came in.

After an hour, the fire was contained. The plant manager sent the remelt personnel back to work. Firefighters remained at the plant for four and a half hours tearing off the roof to drown the remaining hot spots in the insulation. The west end of the paint building roof became weak, making wrap-up efforts more difficult.

Using the pick end of his axe, a Monett firefighter cut a hole through the rubber membrane covering the paint building at Hydro Aluminum to access the fire under the roof.

"The fireman got here very quick," said plant manager. "They've done a very good job." The crew removing the equipment had used cutting torches to take sections of metal off the roof. He suspected their activity may have started the fire. 

"The fire was stubborn and hard to put out." Fire chief said. "It burned the insulation on the inside around the edges of the building. Then it got into the boards running across the roof and got under the rubber. It was pretty much hidden."

Firefighters had to tear out the center raised section of the roof to get at the final parts of the fire. A plant representative planned to examine the site through the night in case of flare-ups. Fire Chief said the ambulance crews at the scene operated a rehab station. Firemen coming out of the building were directed to the ambulances for water and rest as other firemen took their place on the line. 

"The men did a terrific job for what they were dealing with," Fire Chief said.

The APSB would like to commend all the personnel at this facility. No doubt that Hydro's continued emphasis on training resulted in no injuries to either their employees nor the outside contractors during this incident. 

Pertaining toward this incident Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has some useful information pertaining toward:

• Evacuations (view here)
• Fire Extinguisher use (view here)

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