"SOS alarm was sounded at 23:16......"

Extinguishing fires can be accomplished by smothering the combustible that is burning. But, if the fire is an electrical fire it is a little more difficult. Especially in an aluminium smelter where simply turning the power off can have unintended consequences. Here is the story:

 

SOS alarm was sounded at 23:16 on a Saturday night in September 2021 about a fire inside the a smelter in Scandinavia. A total of seven units from the rescue service have been alerted to put out the fire.

 

We have arrived at the site and we see a development of smoke. We also have power outages, says, internal commander at the local rescue service association. 

 

This is a minor extinguishing work and the fire is under control. It is a transformer that is burning and there are risks with high voltages. This means that you have to be sure that there is no power when you turn it off, he says. According to the rescue service, no person should be injured.

 

We are very happy that was no one was injured in this fire. Electrical fires present challenges to safely and properly extinguish. Here is an article that provides detailed information on the hazards and challenges associated with extinguishing a transformer fire.

 

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