Fire Department goes on Strike....Aluminum Plant Catches Fire ?!?!

The importance of local fire departments to our plants cannot be understated. When a fire breaks out in one of our facilities, it is the local fire department that we rely upon for assistance. It is important that our plants provide tours and training to local fire departments on an annual basis. This will provide the fire department with the knowledge of the layout of your facility and location of hazards and utility service shutoff values. Now imagine that your facility has down just that, and the fire department goes on strike. A fire breaks out at your facility and a fire department that is unaware of your plant and its hazards responds. What would happen? Here is a recent story:

Crews have been at the scene of a large fire at an industrial complex on June 13, 2014. Workers were evacuated from the Amtek Aluminium site in Witham in the United Kingdom as there were fears the fire would spread.

At 4.35am the fire had already penetrated the roof and walls of a building, measuring 100m x 50m, after breaking out in an extraction unit.

The site is made up of a number of smaller buildings all linked together, so crews had to work quickly to prevent the fire spreading. Attempts were made to shut down the electricity supply to the plant.

Firefighters surrounded the side wall of the building affected with hose reels and two main jets used.

An aerial platform was erected to pump water onto the roof with police called to direct traffic. The incident commander reported that progress was being made by 5.30am as the fire in the extraction unit and side walls appeared to be out. The flames were finally extinguished at 6:30am and a high pressure fan was used to clear the factory of smoke.

Crews have now located the fire in the extraction unit but its positioning means it is difficult to access. A police spokesman said no-one had been hurt. Three appliances and an aerial ladder platform were initially called. An investigation is to be carried out into the cause of the fire.

This is the 36th incident dealt with by Essex crews since members of the Fire Brigades Union went on strike at 9am yesterday over a dispute with the Government over pensions. The strike ended at 9am today.

UPDATE

A JOINT police and fire service investigation is continuing into a fire that struck a Witham factory in the early hours of June 13, 2014.

Amtek Aluminium in Freebornes Road had to be evacuated at around 4.30am when a blaze tore through its shop blasting area.

At 4,35 am the incident commander reported that the fire had already penetrated the roof and walls and attempts were being made to shut down electricity to the plant. The plant operations director, said: “It’s going to take a few hours to get us up and running, clearing the water is the biggest obstacle at the moment, but we should we the machines up and running pretty soon. “Some of our other ones are already going and we’ll just ramp up their production in the meantime.

“We can’t thank the fire service enough with how they’ve dealt with the situation, the strike has not had an impact on our fire. “Health and safety of the business is paramount and we are cooperating above and beyond with the fire brigade. The factory has many large interlinked sections of an industrial unit that measures 100m by 50m. The fire was extinguished by 7am and an investigation was launched into the cause of the blaze.

A spokesman for Amtek said: “There has been a minor fire at the Amtek plant in Witham. The alarm was raised in the early hours of Friday morning and the Fire Brigade was called, the firefighters proceeded to extinguish the fire and the plant was re-opened at around 8am this morning. “There were no injuries and staff are now preparing the plant for production which will resume later this morning.”

The Aluminium Plant Safety log would like to commend all of the employees and management of the aluminium company on evacuating the facility. It is important to have an evacuation plan and to schedule drills. The drills can be at a set date and time, as well as it is recommended to have a surprise drill. Surprise drills will determine if the workers fulling understand the evacuation plan.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a useful  document on evacuation plans. It can be downloaded here.

This story is unique in many ways. In particular the local fire department who would normally respond to any incidents at this plant was on strike. The APSB assumes that this responding fire department was unaware of the facility layout and hazards in the plant. Luckily for them the plant employees were there to inform them of the source of the fire. But, imagine if the plant was closed. This fire department would have little to no knowledge on what the source of the fire was, let alone the hazards in the plant. As we have seen too many times a lack of knowledge in our industry has resulted in injuries and fatalities. If the source of the fire was aluminium dust, the water would have been insufficient. 

If your local fire department is unavailable to respond to an incident at your facility, which fire department would respond? Is that fire department aware of the layout of your facility and its hazards? The APSB is aware that each plant has a notebook to be given to the responding fire department. That "Fire Dept Notebook" should include but not limited to maps, msds, location of public utilities shutoff values, etc. 

In the next issue of Aluminum Times magazine there will be an article about the importance of incorporating the local fire department in your plant's safety training. The article will highlight two aluminium plants who have take a unique approach to training their local fire department which has resulted in an increase safety to their aluminium workers as well as the fire department officers. The APSB is sure that the author would like any feedback on his work. So chase him down and send the author a comment.

Finally, please comment on this article.