"Firefighters were dispatched to a spill of molten aluminum...."

Molten metal spills are a hazard that can be easily mitigated with proper training. On our plant tours foundries, casthouses, etc will ask us to speak on this topic. Just with any hazard we point out the importance of always following your training, never skip steps, and never make assumptions. Here is a recent incident involving a molten metal spill:

Firefighters were dispatched to a spill of molten aluminum reported late Tuesday night, officials said.

A call came about 11:15 p.m. one night during the week of July 1, 2017 from aluminium die casting company in the Northeast USA, where a quantity of liquified aluminum had spilled, said the local Fire Chief.

No injuries resulted, but the molten material did start some small fires that were extinguished using sand on the premises, he said.

Firefighters from a nearby town 13 kilometers away, were called to assist, the local fire chief said.

The local fire department chief said he did not yet know the amount of aluminum involved in the incident or how the spill occurred. A message left at aluminium die casting company seeking comment was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.

Safety personnel and equipment cleared the scene at 4:30 a.m., the local fire department said.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog is happy that no one was injured in this incident. Molten metal spills have resulted in explosions, fires, injured workers, etc. The news article does not state the quantity of molten metal spilled. We assume that the quantity was considerable (to this plant) because the fire department stayed for close to 5 hours dealing with incident.

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