"static electricity ignited...."

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has posted incidents where workers try to fight a fire instead of calling the local emergency management services (ems). Any delay in notifying the local ems can result in placing workers in undue risk. Here is a recent story that illustrates the importance of notifying the EMS immediately when a fire breaks out.

Fire crews from Yankton and Gayville, South Dakota, USA were dispatched to Sapa Extrusions in Yankton around one late afternoon during the week of August 2, 2015 after a large fire broke out in a paint room.

Yankton deputy fire chief told the Press & Dakotan plant employees had attempted to extinguish the blaze, but the fire moved too quickly.

“When we arrived on scene, we had heavy smoke coming out of the center of the building in the paint room area,” Yankton deputy fire chief said. “Workers from Sapa had tried to fight the fire in the paint room, but were pushed back by smoke. The sprinklers did activate and tried to put the fire out — that did help keep it in check.”

Yankton deputy fire chief said once crews were inside, the support of a ladder truck was necessary. “Our first entry crews were able to get a knock-down on the fire, but the fire was well above them as there’s 20-plus foot ceilings in there,” he said. “We had to use the ladder truck on the exterior roof area when the fire broke out through the roof on the stack area.”

He added that the fire was mostly contained to a single area. “The whole fire, and a majority of the smoke damage, is in the paint room area,” he said. “Sapa has put their crews together and they’re trying to get everything fired back up to get back into business except for that paint room. Right now, the way it’s looking, the rest of the plant might be able to go into operation soon.” As of press time, a cause had yet to be determined and total damages were still being assessed while cleanup continued late into Monday evening. All employees were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported with Sapa employees or firefighters. Yankton deputy fire chief said their department has run across a peculiar issue as a result of the fire.

“One of the things that we’re encountering right now during pulling our hoses and our gear is the paint that’s used in their process got on some of our air packs, our turnout gear, gloves, helmets and even our hose,” he said. “That paint does not dry until it’s baked, so those pieces of equipment that we can’t clean with their special chemical are ruined and out of service. We’re evaluating right now how much gear we can salvage and how much we can clean.”

Yankton deputy fire chief said the paint would become a flash hazard in higher-temperature fires and they’re concentrating on being able to salvage nozzles and air packs.

Responders included the Yankton and Gayville fire departments, Yankton County Emergency Management and Yankton County EMS.

_______________________Another news media article ______________

Investigators believe a fire at an aluminum products business in Yankton started when static electricity ignited a solvent being used to clean a paint gun. One afternoon during the week of August 2, 2015 fire prompted the evacuation of Sapa Extrusions. No one was hurt. Plant Manager tells the Daily Press & Dakotan that a damage estimate isn’t available, but the fire was contained to a small area and will not have a significant impact on operations. Yankton Deputy Fire Chief Deputy fire chief says the fire department had to discard about $20,000 in equipment that became coated in paint while firefighters were dousing the flames.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog would like to congratulate the aluminium plant workers and the local fire departments who responded to this fire. We acknowledge that no injuries were reported and everyone in the plant was evacuated. Though this story may seem to be a “non-story” because everything that was planned for in this plant’s emergency management plan worked. But as the ASPB believes this is a story where you can use it as an example of what would occur at your facility if a fire broke out. When was the last time your plant had a drill? The APSB was touring a facility recently and we asked a worker when their last fire evacuation drill was. The worker knew immediately when the drill was. That worker was congratulated and afterwards we congratulated plant management for their hard work.

This plant like all other Sapa facilities take safety very serious and the amount of safety education, training and drills is a constant at each every Sapa plant. Without a doubt Sapa has taken a leadership role in promoting safety throughout our industry. Keep up the good work!

The APSB recommends that every aluminium plant contact their local fire departments and begin a relationship with them. The relationship should lead to regularly scheduled plant tours for all fire personnel. In addition the plant tours should include but not limited to the location and identification of the following: emergency shutoff values, hazards, fire suppression equipment, etc. The Aluminium Times magazine had an article about the importance of involving local fire departments in safety training:

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