Fighting Tank Fires (1961)

[Music] [Music] [Music] r [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] oh providing petroleum products vital to our way of life is a complex operation and because of the industry's observance of fire protection standards it is an operation which is seldom disrupted by fire refineries receive crude oil by pipelines tankers barges tank cars and tank Vehicles finished petroleum products are also shipped by these same methods tank vehicles are widely used to deliver these finished materials to the consumer an integral part of this complex delivery operation of petroleum products is the bulk plant gasoline and fuel oils are stored in tanks and warehouses store greases and lubricating oils these same products are distributed by Tank vehicles to service stations industrial plants transportation services and to storage tanks for domestic oil burners protection of the thousands of storage tanks needed in this operation is a fire department responsibility yet according to NFPA fire records relatively few tank fires occur because there are so few fires most fire departments have no firsthand experience in fighting this type of fire however since all firefighters should be acquainted with certain basic information on fighting fires involving above ground flammable liquid storage tanks this film showing firefighting problems has been developed the importance of pre fire planning for any existing installations to which the fire department May respond to a fire call cannot be overemphasized many of the construction and installation features will affect the method of attack each installation may present different problems depending upon the location with respect to buildings character of the liquid stored the number and type of Tanks involved the location of the loading rack piping arrangements and the location and type of tank valves these factors should be evaluated on a basis of fire conditions the effect of fire on materials and the possible control of liquid escaping from tanks or lines the greatest protection for firefighters is the design features for the Emergency vending of Tanks subjected to fire the roofs of many vertical tanks are designed to tear loose from the Sha before the bottom to Shell joint fails and thus serve as an emergency relief to prevent failure at the bottom which would release the liquid therefore it is important not only to study the bottom joint but also to compare this with the roof to Shell joint however for vertical tanks not designed with this weakened joint as in this case another means must be provided to relieve the pressures developed Under Fire conditions emergency venting may be provided by single large vents additional vents or loose manhole covers small normal breather vents permit filling and emptying or compensate for sudden temperature changes the slope of the ground is an important factor controlling the flow of burning liquid which might affect hose lays or accessibility to hydrants the importance of emergency venting can be demonstrated on a small scale a small amount of water is placed in a gallon can and an equal amount of gasoline is placed in another can the same amount of gasoline is placed in a third can which has a small hole punctured in the top to serve as an emergency vent the unvented cans containing the water and gasoline fail approximately at the same time from over pressure pressures in the third can are safely relieved as are the pressures in storage tanks equipped with emergency vending after you have checked the emergency vening situation and any complicating factors during pre-fire planning the next step is to work out your basic firefighting techniques typical situations which you may have to meet are demonstrated in the test fires which follow some fires involving tanks occur at the tank vehicle loading Rack in this fire gasoline is Flowing at a rate of approximately 50 Gall a minute from the fill pipe to extinguish the f it is necessary to shut off the flow of gasoline by closing the valve at the tank the approach is made from one side with two 2 and 1/2 in lines with an inch and a half line as backup protection another inch and a half line is used solely to protect the tank vehicle straight streams are first used in the approach to cool the tank and reduce the pressure as the approach continues it is necessary to switch to fog for protection in this maneuver you will note the slow and deliberate approach from the side of the tank and the widening of the fog pattern as the heat increases the officer in charge of this operation has a hand resting on each of the nozzleman shoulders in order to better control and maintain the necessary overlapping of the fog patterns experience has proven that the voice alone may be ineffective to control the lines due to the noise the fog pattern is your protection and the following backup line is your additional safe guard in case of Hose breaks accidental Falls or sudden flare ups in the fire the tank is being kept cool to keep the pressure down and the burning gasoline is being flushed from under the tank with control of the pressure in the tank and of the burning liquid being established it is now safe to move the lines slowly around to the end of the tank to gain access to the tank valve the backup line has to guard against burning gasoline flowing around the sides of the fog pattern as as well as to keep cool the last men on the main approach lines when the officer assures himself that he has the necessary protection established he can then close the tank valve and the liquid stops flowing at the fill pipe an equally deliberate and cautious Retreat is then made in no case should the nozzles be turned off until the firemen are well out of the area although in most cases the flow of fuel feeding a fire may be controlled by closing valves it will sometimes happen that such valves are inaccessible water may still be used to cut off the flow of fuel and one way to accomplish this is to inject water into a line so that the water will displace the gasoline flowing from this leaking flange two inch and a half hose lines are used to cool the tank and piping with the help of the plant manager who explains the piping Arrangement an emergency connection is made to the faill pipe at the loading rack because of the difference in Threads th Department should carry adapters to permit connections between the plant piping and the fire hose the water pressure in the hose should be established before the valve is opened one line continues to play on the tank and should be ready to protect the men on the loading rack if necessary as you see the flow of gasoline changes to a flow of water the fire no longer being fed will presently die out the leaking connection can be repaired or the valve shut while water is still flowing extreme care must be taken when using this method to prevent overfilling the tank this tank has been deliberately equipped with a 2-in breather vent which is not adequate to relieve pressures in the tank when exposed to fire the first attack is from an inch and a half preconnected line on each side of the tank approximately 45 Gall of gasoline a minute is feeding the fire straight streams are used for reach and are first played on the upper portion of the tank to reduce the pressure and heat absorption into the tank since in this case it is particularly important to apply water promptly to the tank to prevent pressures from building up the inch and a half lines are used first as 2 and 1/2 in lines become available the inch and A2 lines are backed out carefully with the one on the side of the approaching 2 and 1/2 in line servy as the backup line the two and A2 in lines may be necessary for the initial attack or to flush the burning gasoline from under the tanks when this is possible as before the streams are concentrated at the top of the tank particularly in the area of the vent where direct Flame impingement may cause localized overheating of the tank shell also water PL on the top of the tank will flow down the sides to keep the tank and its contents cooler it is important always to watch the flame and listen to the sound from the vent if the sound from the vent or the flame velocity is increasing despite water being applied to the tank it is a sign that pressure is building up and a retreat should be made in this case both the inch and a half lines as well as the 2 and 1/2 in lines were easily able to reduce and hold the pressures down full protective clothing including coats helmets and gloves are as imperative for your protection as is the backup line it may be that in some fires a retreat is desirable and portable monitors or hose holders can be used to direct long range streams on the tank and then be left unattended also it could be that at the time of the arrival at the fire it would be too dangerous to approach particularly if the only attack had to be made from on the ends of the tank therefore portable monitors or hose holders can be effectively used to place water on the tank to protect it the monitors or hose holders can be positioned under fog protection if necessary when the fuel has burned itself down the vent fire and remaining small fires can be easily extinguished with hand lines therefore three separate methods of attack are or a combination of these were demonstrated although it is recommended that supports under tanks have a fire resistance of at least 2 hours there are some installations which are not so designed many tanks rest on unprotected steel supports which will soften and collapse when exposed to fire therefore it is imperative to get water on these supports as quickly as possible and and the first engine company in should use its inch and a half preconnected lines keeping the supports cool prevents the tank from dropping to the ground which could break the piping and tank shell thus releasing the contents of the tank to feed the fire the officer maintains overlapping fog patterns and makes sure that all of the metal supports are being kept cool by moving the men and hose from side to side the second engine company lays a 2 and A2 inch line to cool the tank assist in keeping the supports cool and flush the burning gasoline out from under the tank the approach should be made slowly with the officer closely observing the steel supports for any signs of weakening in this fire 500 Gall of gasoline were placed on top of 6,000 Gall of water in the 12,000g tank to give the desired weight load on the supports the gasoline fire was being fed at a rate of approximately 30 gallons a minute particularly note the effectiveness of the hose streams in pushing the fire from under the tank even Against the Wind the same careful approach and backup were used and when the fuel had nearly burned out out the final mop up was easily accomplished and the supports remained intact unprotected steel supports will collapse in different ways but watch the fire burn without any firefighting attempted on this tank partially filled with gasoline and water to represent the weight of a full tank of gasoline this collapse happened approximately 5 minutes after the fire was started however depending on other factors such as the amount of liquid in the tank severity of the fire and design of the supports the time and manner of collapse could be different here is an ordinary paper cup which permits us to study the effect of Fire on a vertical cylindrical tank it is partially filled with gasoline and could represent a vertical tank with the roof removed note that the paper burns above the liquid surface of the gasoline but that the cooling effect of the liquid keeps the paper below the liquid level from being affected by the fire this same cooling occurs in a fire in a vertical flammable liquid storage tank in this case a vertical tank containing 2,000 Gall of gasoline and a horizontal tank still containing 3,000 Gall of gasoline as in previous fires are in a common dyed area the horizontal tank has a vent which is adequate for both normal and emergency venting the vertical tank has has a 2-in vent for normal breathing and a weak seamed rooft shell joint for emergency vending the fire is being fed at a rate of approximately 80 gallons of gasoline a minute although an adequate vent is provided the first attack is made on the horizontal tank to demonstrate the proper procedure for a tank which is not not adequately vented the pressure in the vertical tank increased rapidly as will be noticed by the sound from the vent before the roof tears [Applause] loose [Applause] the sound from the vent on the horizontal tank indicates that the pressure is gradually building up in this tank experience proves that the weak rof to Shell seam on most vertical tanks when over pressured only part tears the roof loose nevertheless you can expect failure of the roof Whenever there is an internal Vapor air explosion many fires in tanks originate with a vapor air explosion and occasionally tanks containing fuel oil or similar high flash point liquids will have an internal explosion during an exposure fire when the liquid is heated although the 2 and 1/2 in l line was successful in reducing the pressure in the horizontal tank it was decided to demonstrate back out procedures this may be done in an actual fire when the fire becomes too dangerous to fight or extinguishment is impossible and water may cause the burning liquid to overflow the D portable monitors or hose holders have been placed to represent protecting exposures the hissing noise you will hear is from the water stream from the portable monitor along with the sound from the 8 in vent flamable liquid fires are spectacular but even a basement fire tire might be more dangerous to you as a firefighter except for the roof being gone from the vertical tank both tanks are intact a hose stream was used to cool the horizontal tank and the vent fire went out the fire in the vertical tank was subsequently extinguished by using an Arial ladder pipe with a 500 Gall per minute fog tip set in a narrow pattern summarizing the points covered in this film which will enable any fire department to effectively and with more safety fight fires involving horizontal and vertical flammable liquid tanks are as follows pre-fire plan each of your book plants with emphasis on the emergency venting exposures piping arrangements and construction materials and design these details tailes may require different tactics for each installation proper emergency vending of Tanks is vital for the safety of firemen improper siiz emergency vents May permit over pressure within tanks causing them to fail violently but adequate Siz vents will prevent such over pressure attack horizontal tanks from the sides and not in the direction of the ends water spray is your protection practice and depend on it shut off the fuel feeding the fire whenever this is possible keep cooling water streams on unprotected steel supports water can be used to move gasoline fires to another location and always wear full protective clothing unprotected steel supports May Fail and drop the tank tank to the ground for some installations it may be necessary to use hose holders or portable turrets to direct water on the tanks from a relatively safe position or to use them for protection of exposed property too much water spreads the fire an increase in the sound from the vent is a warning of increasing pressure within the tank cooling water streams can reduce this pressure buildup the flambo liquids code NFPA number 30 has provisions on tank installations designed for the safety of firefighters and to enable them to do effective firefighting follow this code for all new installations an understanding of tank storage requirements characteristics of liquids and firefighting techniques will enable you to fight flambo liquid tank fires [Music] safely