BANG - BOOM - KABOOM!

Don’t Fight Explosives Fires!

from Bill Schumm at Firegeezer.com - editors note - Bill is a retired Captain from Fairfax County. He opened Firehouse 26..."Guardians of the Slab"

We have had many close calls here in Fairfax County. Great info below!

One of the headline-makers yesterday was the truck fire and resulting explosion in a trailer carrying a mining explosive, ANFO - ammonium nitrate mixed with fuel oil. The explosion killed dozens of people gathered around to look at the wreck along with some rescue workers. It is not yet known if the driver informed anyone at the time about his cargo.

Firefighters know (as least, you should know!!) that once you have explosives involved in a fire, then you have an irreversible process ongoing that will result in a catastrophic explosion. That’s why your haz-mat instructors keep preaching to you: “Don’t fight explosives fires!”
Yesterday’s incident brought back to mind a similar event that took place in Kansas City, Mo. 19 years ago. It was on November 29, 1988 that fire dispatch received a call at 0340 hrs. from a construction site security guard reporting a pickup truck on fire at the job site.

Pumper 41 was dispatched and while en route was told by the dispatcher: “Pumper 41, use caution on your call. There’s information there may be explosives. It’s in a construction area …” Upon arrival 6 minutes later, P-41 reported that there was a second fire in a 40-ft. trailer several hundred yards away and requested a 2nd engine company. Pumper 30 was dispatched to assist.

The two engine companies had a total of 6 men on them, 2 captains and 4 firefighters. Four of the six had completed field training on haz-mat identifications and procedures. There were two trailers at the fire scene, one of which was burning, but it is not known if they were placarded. They were being used as storage magazines for ANFO. The one that was burning contained 25,000 lbs. of product and the 2nd trailer held another 30,000 lbs.

Twenty-two minutes after the first company arrived on scene, at 0408 hrs., the burning trailer detonated. The blast had five times the force of the Oklahoma City bombing and immediately killed all six firefighters and destroyed the pumpers. The battalion chief who was responding immediately pulled back, established a remote command post and set up an exclusion zone keeping everybody far away from the blast site. Forty minutes after the first blast, the second trailer detonated.

The first explosion literally vaporized the six firefighters. No single trace of them was ever found. Not so much as a fiber. The two fire engines were blown into bits. The exemplary size-up and tactical decision of the battalion chief to maintain the extended quarantine of the site undoubtedly saved untold others from perishing when the 2nd blast occurred.

The explosions were heard 45 miles away. Think about that for a moment…. Pick a place that is 45 miles from where you are right now and try to imagine hearing something taking place there. And never forget:
Don’t fight explosives fires!

Take a moment to review explosive placards...take some extra time to review all DOT placards. Discuss what the differences are between the hazard classes. What do the small numbers mean? How would you respond to each? 15-20 minutes for this review.