Firemen make headway against 2-day-old blaze.... (updated)

Magnesium metal is used throughout our industry for alloying. Magnesium metal and its alloys are explosive hazards; they are highly flammable in their pure form when molten or in powder or ribbon form. Magnesium is capable of reducing water to highly flammable hydrogen gas. Burning or molten magnesium metal reacts violently with water. Here is a recent story that illustrates the hazard of magnesium.

Firefighters battled a magnesium fire for a second day at a factory in Japan during the week of May 11, 2014.

Held back by the intense heat from the burning magnesium, they couldn’t enter plant until the following morning. The blaze was under control at around 4:30 p.m., but completely extinguishing it would take more time, firefighters said. The fire had broken out at around 4:15 p.m. the day earlier.

They were forced to rely on sand and special retardants because magnesium can explode on contact with water. About 1,400 sq. meters of the two-story facility was gutted, firefighters said.

The magnesium processed at the plant is used to make computer components.

According to the local Fire Department, the temperature of the surface of the first floor ceiling was about 100 degrees as of Wednesday morning, while the air temperature within the facility reached as high as 50 degrees. The first firefighters on the scene used water on the blaze but stopped as soon as they were informed about magnesium being processed at the facility.

One plant worker was listed in serious condition and seven others suffered minor injuries, the fire department said. The employee in serious condition is reportedly a man in his 60s who suffered severe burns. The others injured are six men ranging in age from their 20s to 40s and a woman in her 30s. More than 10 other workers were reportedly inside the factory when the fire started.

According to the police, workers said the fire started when a spark from an operation using a soldering iron ignited some magnesium and aluminum that were being processed.

The processing work takes place on the facility’s first floor. Soon after the fire broke out, the fire department issued a voluntary evacuation advisory for residents within 100 meters of the plant. About 30 people were evacuated to nearby public gymnasiums. The local Government also alerted residents in adjacent areas to stay indoors.

The fire department warned that extinguishing the fire would continue for some time, given that firefighters needed about 16 hours to control a blaze at another factory in May 2012.

The factory is located in a residential area near the boundary between two large cities, about 1 km a busy commuter train line.

A man in his 70s who lives in the area said that after he heard a loud “boom,” his house started shaking. “When I went outside (I saw) black smoke coming (from the facility) and a few people in ripped clothes sitting (outside the factory),” he said.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog prays for a quick and full recovery for all of the injured worker’s physical and mental injuries.

Because the first responders were unaware of what the source of the fire was, the APSB does not place blame on them pouring water onto the fire. Nevertheless, they are lucky to be alive. Applying water to a magnesium/aluminium fire is never recommended. There are numerous cases where firemen have been killed by spraying water onto an aluminium or magnesium fire. Upon being made aware that magnesium was fueling the fire they immediately stopped applying water onto it.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog recommends that at least once a year all plants invite local fire departments for a tour of your facility. Which the local fire department can be made aware of the hazards in your facility. Most importantly they can learn the location of the hazards as well as the location(s) of utility shutoff valves (e.g., gas, electric, water, etc.). Answer these questions:

1.   Does your plant offer tours to local fire departments on a regular basis?

2.   Does your plant have a developed a detailed map (locating hazards, shutoff values, etc.) that has been given to the local fire department?

If you answered no on either question, your plant needs to reevaluate its emergency management plan.

The North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) has numerous great safety presentations. Their website can be viewed here. NADCA's excellent PowerPoint presentation titled "Fire Safety for Magnesium Processing & Finishing Operations" it can be downloaded here.

Midsouth Rescue Technologies has some useful information pertaining toward magnesium fires. It can be viewed here.

When a fire breaks out, do you have the appropriate Class D Fire Extinguisher? If not, get one immediately! 

Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) has information pertaining toward the different types of fire extinguishers. It can be viewed here:

Finally the magazine "Popular Science" post titled "Let Burning Metals Lie, There's not much you can do to put a magnesium fire". The post talks about the science behind a magnesium fire. The informative post can be viewed here.

Update.

The APSB is sadden to find out that one of the injured workers has succumbed to his injuries. While another worker remains in a coma. We pray for the family, friends, coworkers of the deceased worker as well as the injured worker in the coma. 

Please Comment.