Irony is defined as expressing one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite. For an example look no further than the recent Labor Day celebration in Philadelphia barely two months after an explosion and fire closed the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery complex.
As technological advancements have emerged to make our fire world safer and lower risk to manage emergency incidents, it’s easy to numb our human senses that tell us danger is near.
Thirty-six hours into the Deer Park fire, the call went out to Dwight Williams who, in turn, brought on board Chris Ferrara of US Fire Pump. Together they mustered a team of exceptional firefighters both young and, uh, mature to tackle the terminal fire.
Long range environmental concerns threaten to torpedo the use of fluorinated surfactants in Class B firefighting foam.
Working any kind of firefighting magic at an industrial conflagration requires one basic component – water.
When it comes to a high pressure vapor release, the billowing apparition rapidly enveloping the facility is not as dangerous as what might already be much closer.
It’s hard to believe that any facility as akin to fire and fury as the Beaumont Emergency Safety Training complex could fade away more gently.
Whoever plans for potential disasters considers the most severe possible outcome that can reasonably be projected. Unfortunately, the word "reasonably" cannot be applied to Harvey.
The biggest precaution for firefighters to take is recognizing that an EFIS system is in use and pre-plan if there is a chance for it to become involved with a fire.
Refinery or petrochemical plant fires are not the only fire risks to affect production. Of course, keeping that chain optimized leaves no room for having fires.