“The fire was pushing toward a building but didn’t get in"

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted incidents of machinery fires in our industry. Each and every incident poses different challenges to fire fighters and plant personnel. Here is an incident that could have become worse.

Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that started in a metal-shredding unit one evening during the week of September 8, 2013 at the Conservit facility in Hagerstown, Maryland in the United States.

The Funkstown Deputy Fire Chief said the fire, which was reported at 7:22 PM, was contained to a hopper and a conveyor belt before it could spread to a building at the scrap-metal facility.

"The fire was pushing toward a building but didn't get in," fire chief said.

The initial call came in as an outside investigation, but the fire was fully involved when firefighters arrived.

A large plume of smoke could be seen from about five miles away in downtown Hagerstown, Maryland.

Firefighters used caution maneuvering around large piles of shredded scrap metal to avoid getting cut.

A hydrant was nearby, which provided easy access to water to fight the fire.

46 fire fighters were at the scene, but not all all of them were involved with fighting the fire. He said the blaze was under control in about 15-20 minutes. 

The Maryland State Fire Marshall's Office was conducting an investigation at the scene.

UPDATE

The fire started in the grinding motor area of a metal shredder. Which caused an estimated $200,000 in damage, the Maryland State Fire Marshall's Office said.

The fire was caused by overheated debris, according to a fire marshall's office news release.

Though this incident seems unremarkable in many ways the reader can still learn valuable safety tips. For instance the location of fire hydrants in our facilities are sometimes overlooked. 

The APSB has repeatedly called for annual plant tours of local emergency management departments (fire, ambulance, etc.). During these tours it would be recommended that any fire hydrants on company property be tested to ensure that they work properly.

The Occupation Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a document on fire service features which can be viewed here.

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