Responding to a Power Plant Explosion
I just read a very interesting article from FireEngineering.com that discussed the challenge of responding to a power plant explosion and resulting fire. As you know, I normally look at emergency response from the utility perspective, but looking at it through the lens of a fire fighter reveals some interesting insights.
The Case Study for Responding to a Power Plant Explosion
The scenario occurred in December 1996 at the Illinois Power Plant, a 5-story structure made primarily out of steel and concrete. A 911-call came in, explaining that one of the plant’s coal mills had exploded, leading to a large fire inside the facility. Upon receiving the call, the Lieutenant on duty called for mutual assistance from a neighboring town, in an effort to secure adequate resources to battle the flames.
Upon arriving on scene, the East Alton Fire Department’s incident commander debriefed with some of the plant’s employees to understand the scope of the issue as well as the likelihood of people being injured or unaccounted for. Luckily, the plant supervisor indicated that everyone had successfully evacuated the building, and he took a head count to confirm.
Once fire personnel entered the facility, they were able to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of the emergency. Specifically, the fire had sprawled out to the point where at least a 1,200 square foot section of the plant was on fire. Soon thereafter, another explosion occurred, forcing fire fighters to temporarily retreat until the situation could be reassessed.
The secondary explosion was not the only challenge that had to be overcome, the biggest of which was the fact that the plant’s emergency water system was inoperable because the pump that extracts water from a nearby river was cut off from electricity. To overcome this, the fire fighters were forced to lay a 2,100-foot supply pipe to tap into the water supply from a nearby village. At that time, additional mutual assistance was brought in as well.
Overall, the fire crew had to wait for over an hour to start interior operations, as explosions and electrical arcing was rapidly occurring. The situation was too unsafe. Finally, once the fire breached the battery room, the entire facility was deenergized and could be entered. Less than 30 minutes later, the fire was extinguished.
Lessons Learned from the Response Effort
One of the key lessons learned from the power plant explosion response was to ensure familiarity with the inside of these types of facilities. As such, the fire department now works with the utility to schedule annual tours of their facilities. Not only does this help from a structure-navigation standpoint, but it also helps build relationships with utility personnel, especially with plant supervisors whose presence at the command post is critical. It also allows for the testing of systems critical to fighting fires, such as pumps, standpipes and hydrants.
Another lesson learned was to make sure that all hazards are identified. In the power plant explosion scenario, heat and flames were the most obvious hazards, but plenty of other hazards existed such as arc flashes, compressed gas emissions, high pressure steam lines, coal dust, and frozen water.
Another lesson was to adopt an incident command system (ICS). This is as critical for fire fighting as it is for utility response, as it helps ensure a manageable span of control. Additionally, it’s a good idea to designate a safety officer to oversee safety protocols during the event.
All in all, it’s great to look at how emergency response happens from outside the utility industry. Obtaining additional perspectives around any kind of problem is a great way to ensure that as many best practices are adopted as possible.
