Fires and explosions
that occur because of a malfunctioning furnace are somewhat commonplace in our
industry. Rarely do these incidents make it into the news media. The result of
these fires and explosions vary to their severity and impact on nearby workers.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has a recent story involving a furnace fire.
The local fire department
responded to a structure fire at an aluminium foundry one evening during the
week of October 18, 2015, according to a release from the local Volunteer Fire
Department.
It happened
around 5:39 p.m. at a business located in the Midwest United States.
Managers
reported seeing flames coming from the top of an interior foundry furnace, and
smoke was showing from the exterior, according to the release.
Officials said
the firefighters encountered heavy smoke and sprinklers had activated prior to
arrival. Interior crews disconnected power to the involved machinery, shut down
the sprinkler system, and overhauled portions of the ceiling above the furnace,
officials said.
Initial damage
estimates and the cause of the fire are currently pending.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog chose not to name the plant in this
incident because there was a question if injuries occurred because of this
incident. So we decided to air on the side of the caution and not to state the
company name nor location.
The APSB is glad that the emergency sprinklers activated as designed
and assisted in minimizing the damage. In addition the fire department arrived
and disconnected the power to the “involved machinery”. We assume that means
that the power to the furnace and the associated equipment were shutdown. This
incident is unremarkable in many ways. A fire occurred involving a furnace. The
sprinkler activated as designed. Fire department arrived and put out the
remaining fire. All true, but we decided to post this incident to show that incidents
do occur in our industry and the result is damage to equipment and/or facility.
We would like to challenge you, please ask yourself “What would should occur if
a fire happens at your facility?” Please note we would recommend choosing a
high risk area to ask this question. The APSB asks that same question during
site visits to the chagrin of plant managers. We normally get directed to the
maintenance and/or safety director for an answer. On the rare occasion this
question brings up either a flaw or a weak point in the emergency management
plan.
Please Comment.
1 comment:
sprinklers in an aluminium foundry????
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