Fire breaks out at an aluminium plant, water is required !?!?

When a fire breaks out in our plants involving aluminium dust or molten metal water should never be used at all. The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted incidents where water used on aluminium fire resulted in injuries and fatalities. Here is a recent story where a fire broke out an aluminium plant and water was poured onto the fuel feeding the fire. Here is the story:

A large fire was reported around 8 p.m. Friday, July 25 at the Beck Aluminum plant in Wisconsin in the United States.

Scanner reports from our friends at Racine Uncovered indicate a 30-foot trailer filled with wooden pallets was the primary location of the fire. An officer from the City of Racine first reported the fire, and crews from South Shore Fire Department responded shortly thereafter, including off-duty personnel.

Roads around the plant – including Highways 11 and 32, 23rd and Racine Streets – remain closed to traffic, and residents are reporting heavy smoke.

A former employee commented on the Racine County Eye Facebook page that Beck runs a 24/7 operation, but workers were not in any danger because the trailer is not located near the primary building.

“It appears the fire is away from the main buildings, so there should be little risk to employees,” a former employee wrote on a social media site. “If the trailer would have been docked at the main building, then yes, employees could potentially be at risk.” 

Here is another media story.

South Shore Fire Department along with Racine Police and Mount Pleasant Police are on scene for an active fire at Beck Aluminum. Multiple calls came into Racine County Dispatch at around 8:05 for a trailer that was on fire near a building. When Racine Police arrived they confirmed it was a 30 foot trailer that was partially inside the building and fully engulfed. Radio reports that trailer is filled with wooden pallets. South Shore has asked for a voluntary recall of all fire personnel at this time. Area residents state that the area is full of dark black smoke at this time. Highway 11 & 32 are closed and 23rd and Racine at this time along with other streets.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog hopes that Beck Aluminium recovers fully from this incident. The media in this report was unique by citing scanner  reports (that is radio communication between emergency management services) and the posting from social media sites. How does a media company know if the postings to a social media site are accurate? All aluminium companies should have a 24 hour system in responding to social media posting. One can easily imagine this local story becoming an international story if incorrect or false postings were posted on the social media site that the news media cited.

Imagine if this trailer full of pallets was parked inside the main building where molten metal was processed? Luckily is was not, but what if?

The APSB encourages all plants to involve their local fire departments in training in their facilities. The local fire department should at minimum be aware of what and where the hazards are located in your plant. Even though this plant operates around the clock, imagine what damage this facility could have occurred if the plant was closed. The APSB has posted incidents where the local fire department arrived at an incident after the plant was closed.

The Aluminium Times Magazine has an interesting article about involving local fire departments in training. It can be viewed below:

Please Comment.