Industrial Fire Fighting
Fuel Storage tanks
Fuel Storage tanks for flammable and
combustible liquids
• Types of hazardous material stored in tanks include;
• Crude Oil,
• Kerosene
• Aviation fuels
• Bunker fuel,
• Ethanol
• Polar Solvents i.e. Alcohols
• What do you store?...
Types of storage tanks
• There are several types of storage tanks
• Cone roof tanks
• Open floating roof tanks
• Covered floating roof tanks
• Horizontal Atmospheric Tanks
Tank type construction Cone Roof tank
• Advantages • Disadvantages
• Advantages include easy and • Weak roof to shell seam
cheap to build • Roof is designed to separate
• Cone shaped roof from shell
• Smooth exterior shell walls • Roof may only partially separate
• Maybe insulated • Can be dangerous in the event
• Vapour space above liquid of a separation
within the tanks
Open floating roof tanks
• Roof floats on surface of liquid,
• Walkway to the top of the shell,
• Ladder from the roof to the top of the shell
• Seals installed between the roof and the shell,
• Designed to support its own weight and the likely load of
any rain, or snow,
• Drains are installed to remove excess water from the roof.
• Where fire stream are used this can partially sink the roof
exposing product to air
Covered floating roof tanks
• Identified by high brow vent
• Similar to open floating roof tanks except they have a fixed roof
• Roof to shell seam can be a weak point,
• Maybe steel or aliminium pontoon
• More expensive to contruct but have a good safety record
• Fire maybe difficult to extinguish due to the covered roof
Horizontal Tanks
• Can be rivetted, bolted or welded#
• Fitted with pressure relief valve
• Integral part is the support for the tank, this can be affected by heat in
a fire,
• Should be constructed to American Petroleum Institute Standards
• As for all tanks secondary dikes or bunds should be in place to contain
100% of largest tank plus 10%
Fire protection systems
• Fixed systems for fire fighting may include;
• Water
• Halon,
• Dry Chemical,
• Class B Foams
• Systems can be fixed with all equipment in place with media already set up
• Semi fixed systems have some equipment in place but foam and water must be supplied
• Equipment may include monitors, hydrants foam pourers
• Sub surface injection uses high back pressure system outside the dike to inject foam into the
base of the tank
• If no fixed system firefighters can tap into product lines for subsurface injection, only suitable
for hydrocarbons!
Fixed systems
• Rim seal pourers
• Top pourer
• Bund Pourer
• Fixed automatic or manual monitors
• Deluge systems
• Sprinkler systems
• Injection systems (base of tanks)
Causes of tank fires
• Weather conditions
• Leaks
• Vapours from over fill
• Hot works during maintenance
• Other incidents can occur such as confined spaces incidents where
safety measures are not observed
• Static electricity caused by product during fast transport
Responding to emergencies
• Information gathering is key to a successful intervention.
• Information required could include,
• Type of tank involved
• Product stored,
• Construction method
• Fixed systems,
• Response route
• Wind direction,
• On arrival tactics,
• Water supplies
• Quantity of foam required
• Application rate for type of content
• Exposures,
• Run off location and control method
Incident command
• Unified command should be set up in accordance with company
procedures
• Hot cold and warm zones set up
• Safety zone for storage tanks 10x diameter of tanks
• Gather all information
• Ensure correct level of firefighting media is in place BEFORE starting
foam attack including reserves!
Firefighting tactics
• Offensive operation expose firefighters to greater risk
• Defensive operation reduce risk,
• Non intervention where risk is unacceptable, pump out if possible
• Continuous assessment must be carried out and communicated to all team members.
• Additional hazards may include H2S ensure that the MSDS is consulted for all incidents involving
any chemical
• Foam blankets shall be applied to all spills and this MUST be maintained throughout the incident,
• Actions should be taken to isolate leaks closing valves,
• Leaking pipes should be blinded by firefighters to prevent further releases
• Actions to prevent liquids including run off should be taken to prevent contamination of water
supplies
• If possible decant contents to unaffected tanks
Firefighting tactics continued
• Cooling of external tank shell and other tanks and above product line and
structures,
• NFPA 11 details application rates for specific products
• Foam is dependant on type of product,
• Surface area of tank must be known to allow for correct minimum
application and duration.
• Constant gas monitoring should be undertaken
• When horizontalk #tanks are involved the priority is to extinguish ground
fires
• Second priority is to cool the tank and structure
Storage tanks fire hazards
• Boil over, water has sunk to the bottom of the tank and boiled causing
the product to “boil over” depending on temperature this heat wave
can travel at 12 inches/hr {300mm/Hr} to 3 feet/hr {950mm/Hr)
• Slop over occurs is open top tanks when water and or foam is applied
to the surface of a burning liquid, hot froth can occur and the burning
product can “Froth over”
Boil over incident
Storage Tank Firefighting
Storage tank fire fighting Pt 2
Gas leak and Explosion
Capture and Control
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion
