"Liquid aluminum leaked causing flames and smoke....."

Out of all the hazards the Aluminium Plant Safety Blog editors are asked to speak about molten metal safety is our most popular request. Here is a recent incident highlight the importance of molten metal safety.

🔦 Last night we were alerted about a fire in a commercial enterprise. Liquid aluminum leaked causing flames and smoke. The fire, which luckily related to one area, was already out before our arrival. We used a high-pressure fan to smoke the affected area. Nobody got hurt. The mission was over after around an hour.

So, we found this incident on social media post by the European fire department. We are ecstatic that no aluminium workers nor fire department workers were injured nor killed in this incident. Even though the fire department’s post was only 54 words. There is plenty to learn. We know that an aluminium leak came into contact with a combustible which ignited and a fire ignited. The aluminium company immediately contacted the local fire department and worked to extinguish the flames. Which they did! We assume that the flames generated a lot of smoke because the fire department spent nearly an hour providing exhaust fans.

We hope the readers will learn, to 1^st call the local fire department when a fire breaks out. 2^nd if possible, try to extinguish the flames safely. 3^rd evacuate, or anyone not working to extinguish the flames should evacuate.

Lastly, we need to discuss molten metal spills. There are somewhat commonplace that some workers are complacent about the hazards associated with them. As with this incident, molten metal will ignite any combustible if given the opportunity. It is imperative that molten metal spill kits are readily accessible to any furnace or container of molten metal. The kits vary from company to company. But, at minimum they should contain primary safety clothing (including  boots). In addition, they should include some inert material (e.g., sand, bone ash, etc.) that can be used to contain the spill from moving.

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