NEAFC 32nd Annual Conference.pdf - New England Association of ...

NEw ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF Free CHIEFS
On the other hand, we have a more highly concentrated fuel.
A cubic foot of leakage has five times the potentiaL that a cubic foot of
leakage of city gas would have, and 2 ½ times the potential of natural gas.
So that we have more or less of a balance, as far as the fire and explosio n
hazard is concerned, as compared with the other fuel gases... ~-~
Free or unburned gas can only come about through leakage, mal-£ttiaction
of equipment in the normal operation of release valves,! - personal inatt~ention
to detail of installation, human error, and all of those ’~ things that ffsually
contribute to any hazard.
And, of course, the answer to combating the fire and explosion hazard
with any fuel gas. is to properly confine it within its conduits, appurtenances
and devices.
That responsibility is recognized by the industry, and there is a great
deal being done by the industry to prevent that situation. We have pamphlet.s
published by the National Fire Protection Associ.aFion, the Liquefied Gas. an.~l
Petroleum Association, American Gas tests even lis.c ~our devices. All of tho~e
people formulate rules and put out publications for us to go by, and a gre~t
amount of help is. procured by the use of their pamphlets.
However, as far as they go, they are fine; but, unless they are used
by the individual who. is actually doing the work, they are to no avail. So that
in my mind, the responsibility for a safe propane system, safe-handling, rests,
ultimately, with the individual who is doing the work and it is up to his
superiors and the enforcing authority to see that he executes his. job properly;
if he does, the hazard of handling any fuel gas is. greatly minimized.
Now, there are several situations that you, as. fire fighters, will be called
upon to face, with regard to bottled gas.
Probably the most common situation involves a fire, at a domestic dwelling,
where bottled gas is being used, and, luckily for us, this involves, a large
percentage of houses, in the rural areas.
It is unusual today to find a rural dwelling thae is not equipped with
bottled gas. So that that, probably, is. your most common situation.
Now, let me outline what we believe to be the correct procedure when
you arrive at a dwelling fire, involving bottled gas. This also applies to any
commercial establishment, store or other place that has gas either in small or
large quantities in cylinders. ¯
First of all, if the fire has not progressed to the point where it involves
the LP cylinders, they should be removed and taken to a safe distance. First,
of course, you would close the cylinder valves., and then if time permits, you
would remove the connection to the cylinder, which, incidentally, is a left-hand
thread, as are all fuel gas cylinders, whereas the inerts and oxygen will be right,
and the fuel gas will be left. If time does not permit, then a pair of wire
cutters, electrician’s pliers, will clip anything like that. Then, the cylinder can
be removed to a safe place.
If you have time, we wouldn’t mind if you took the regulating equipment
off, also; that will save us a few bucks. :
Now, in the event that the fire has progressed to the area of the cylinder,
you will have to exercise common sense and good judgment as to whether or
not you remove it. For my money, if the cylinders are close to any large
fl:.a_me,~ 0r.i.f there are any embers near them, if there is any fire within the area,