The accumulation of aluminum shavings, fines, and
dust is a hazard that many in our industry mitigate on a daily basis. Many
plants have institute engineering processes or housekeeping procedures to
minimize the amount of aluminm shavings that are generated. All plants should
have class D fire extinguishers. In addition all plants should have sufficient quantity
of class D fire extinguishers in stock. The following story emphasizes the need
to have in stock Class D fire extinguishers.
An accidental fire at a local foundry caused
challenges for firefighters because of the material that was burning, local
Fire Chief said.
He said
firefighters from several area departments were on a “wait and hold” pattern one
morning during the week of December 20, 2015 at an aluminium foundry in the
Midwest United States until a special extinguisher agent could be delivered
from the another Fire Department.
Then, after the truck arrived, the fire at the
aluminium foundry was brought under control.
The local fire
department said the fire accidentally started during the casting process at the
plant. He said the company was about to close for the holidays. He said there
was no structural damage, so it was hard to estimate the dollar loss.
The fire was
reported in the ceiling and the building at about 10:40 a.m. one morning during
the week of December 20, 2015 and the building was evacuated, he said.
There were no injuries, he said. Firefighters
were dispatched about 10:40 a.m. and remained on scene for nearly three hours,
he said. Units from four surrounding towns assisted the original fire
department, he said.
The fire
involved metal scraps and shavings and aluminum, which can’t be extinguished
with water, Fire Chief said.
Fire Chief said a
local fire department had the only equipment in the area that has Purple-K, a
dry-chemical fire suppression agent used in some dry chemical fire
extinguishers.
When the truck
arrived, Fire Chief walked over and took a picture with his cell phone. “You don’t see
one of those every day,” he said.
The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog chose not to name
the plant in this story because our following comments could be read as negative.
The APSB is glad that no one was injured in this fire and the property damage
was minimal. It is unknown if or how many class D fire extinguishers the
aluminium casting plant had. But what is known is that the aluminium company
did not have enough Class D fire extinguishers. The APS has posted incidents
where lack of Class D fire extinguishers resulted in moderate to severe
equipment and building damage.
Does your plant have class D fire extinguishers?
Do you have enough to put out a large fire?
The Aluminium Times magazine had several articles
about aluminium fines/dust.
In addition the Aluminium Times magazine had an article about the importance of working with your local fire department.
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