Dust collectors are a common piece
of equipment in almost any type plant in our industry. Their proper maintenance
and service is important to prevent dust/fine fires. The Aluminium Plant Safety
Blog has a recent story reinforcing the importance of proper dust collector
operation.
The
Fond du Lac Fire Department was called out to Mercury Marine on Monday
afternoon, November 10th after a dust collector system caught fire.
Fire
officials say Plant 98 at Mercury Marine had to be evacuated after plant
personnel reported a fire occurred in a dust collection system connected to the
building.
The
automatic fire sprinkler activated and the fire was extinguished.
“The
fire suppression system worked as designed and kept the fire contained to the
dust collector” Fond du Lac Fire Chief Peter O’Leary said.
The
fire was contained to the dust collector and didn’t cause any structural
damage. No one was injured. Employees returned to work shortly after fire crews cleared the
building
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog
congratulates Mercury Marine for contacting the Fond du Lac Fire Department for
assistance in putting this fire out. In addition Mercury Marine personnel were properly
evacuated resulting in no injuries.
There is a lot of information on
preventing aluminium dust/fine explosions and fires.
The Aluminum Association (USA) has some
great literature aptly titled: "Guidelines for Handling Aluminum Fines",
which can be purchased here.
The DieCast Industry has a great
Powerpoint presentation on preventing dust explosions and fires. It can be
downloaded here (it will download immediately if clicked).
The Aluminium Times Magazine's safety
column dealt with aluminium dust and fines. That column can be found here.
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