25 tonnes of aluminium flakes began smouldering and then.....

The various modes of transportation in which our raw materials and finished products travel vary. From truck, train, ship, etc. our products are always constantly moving. On occasion an incident occurs during transportation. Here is a recent incident.

Firefighters tackle blaze at Immingham docks container at DFDS Riverside terminal in Immingham in the United Kingdom on December 1^st 2016.

A container loaded with 25 tonnes of aluminium flakes began smouldering and then caught fire around noon today.

Work at the terminal came to a halt as firefighters brought the fire under control.

The contents of the container were classed as non-hazardous.

No one was injured in the fire emergency. It was reported at 11.55 am today and was attended by a crew from Immingham East fire station and Peaks Lane in Grimsby.

Two of the crew used breathing apparatus sets to protect themselves from the heat and smoke from the container as crew members used bolt croppers to open it.

That allowed firefighters to bring it under control and put it out.

Crew left the scene at the Humber Road terminal at 1.35pm. A spokesman for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said the material was non hazardous, non-corrosive and non toxic. He said: “How it came to be smoking, is not clear but vapour was issuing from the container." A spokeswoman for DFDS said it had been taken off an Eimskip vessel at the quayside. She said: “The container burst into flames and was dealt with by port safety operatives and the fire and rescue service. There was no risk to anyone and no explosion."

She added: “We are happy with the emergency response system. We had fire wardens and first responders on scene. We know how to deal with situations like this. We train people to respond to such incidents."

The Aluminium Plant Safety blog congratulates the fire department that responded to this incident. We are glad that no one was injured and that the fire fighters knew what they were doing. Sadly the APSB has reported on many incidents where fire fighters (and aluminium workers) did not have the knowledge on how to handle a fire with a specific fuel (e.g., aluminium, magnesium, etc.). A lack of knowledge when dealing with an incident can have catastrophic results. Too many fire fighters have died because of a lack of knowledge on our industry’s hazards. In response many aluminium plants have instituted training for local emergency management crews. We commend any aluminium company that reaches out to their local fire departments. It is only through a dialogue on what and where our hazards are in our individual plants can we minimize the danger they pose to fire fighters and our own workers in an emergency.

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