Wikipedia entry:
"Polystyrene is classified according to DIN4102 as a "B3" product, meaning highly flammable or "easily ignited". … Foamed plastic materials have been accidentally ignited and caused huge fires and losses. Examples include the Düsseldorf International Airport, the Channel tunnel, where it was inside a railcar and caught on fire, and the Browns Ferry nuclear plant, where fire reached through a fire retardant, reached the foamed plastic underneath, inside a firestop that did not consider bounding.
"… Düsseldorf International Airport 1996 April 11: fire breaks out on the roof of the terminal A, probably caused by welding work. 17 people die, mostly due to smoke inhalation, with many more hospitalized. Damage to the airport is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. At the time, the fire is the biggest public disaster in the history of Northrhine-Westpahlia. ….
"The Channel Tunnel fire of 18 November 1996 occurred on a train carrying heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers through the Channel Tunnel from France to Great Britain.
…. No one was killed during the fire, although seven people were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire destroyed a locomotive and ten HGVs, caused major damage to approximately 1 km of tunnel infrastructure and severely tested the abilities of fire brigades from France and the UK."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Find the missing link?
Poly fire makes history in NZ
It has been suggested that it was New Zealand’s largest food processing firestorm in history. The Tegel Poultry Processing Plant in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby was devastated on 5 January, 2007 in a conflagration the like of which fire fighters attending rarely see.
Polystyrene panels have been implicated in this tragedy which left the company scrambling for temporary space, under attack from animal rights activists, and paying fulltime salaries to staff with no work to do.
The Tegel fire set records. The total losses are estimated to be between NZ$50m and NZ$100m. The fire also broke records for the number of appliances attending. “Ten fire engines and more than 50 firefighters were called to the blaze, meaning every available firefighter in the city was on site,” said a news report.
The Fire Brigades’ Regional Commander Rob Saunders said: "They were supported by a number of firefighters from volunteer brigades from surrounding areas and call back staff were called back in to provide fire coverage for the Christchurch district."
TV New Zealand was on the spot to record the dramatic inferno. “The fire-fighters were battling 20m-high flames, the fire’s ferocity kept the first ground crew at a distance. They took to their new multi million dollar aerial towers.”
“With the flames came thick dark smoke fuelled by polystyrene that plumed over much of the western and southern city and precinct,” said the report.
The pure heat of the fire was such the investigation was delayed: “Fire safety officer Sue Trafford says the site examination has taken much longer than expected because the factory was so badly damaged,” said the television report.
The fire performance of polystyrene insulated panel in New Zealand was part of the New Zealand Fire Service’s Research Priorities for 2002/2003. It’s recommendation included the following: “Polystyrene Insulated Panel (PIP) has been used as a building material in New Zealand for over thirty years… There is growing concern, however, about the fire performance of the material within New Zealand and overseas. “ (http://www.fire.org.nz/research/reports/2002-2003.htm)
“The Hornby plant was a 24hour operation, killing 50 thousand chickens a day, mostly for the local market. It has more than 300 employees, half of them employed on the processing line that was destroyed,” reported One News.
Tegel's only South Island poultry slaughterhouse came under attack from SAFE, New Zealand's second largest animal advocacy organization. "Tegel's slaughterhouse operation in Hornby kills about 50,000 chickens each day. The massive backlog of chickens awaiting slaughter could cause serious welfare problems and result in increased bird mortalities," said Hans Kriek, campaign director of SAFE.
“The poultry industry has purposely produced a meat chicken that has an accelerated growth rate that allows the birds to be ‘table ready' at a mere six weeks of age. Their unnaturally large bodies place enormous strain on the birds' legs resulting in abnormal gait, lameness and pain.
"The destruction of the slaughterhouse could cause a delay in killing these fast-growing birds, which will increase the level of suffering. Tegel has publicly stated that their focus is on staff and customers but SAFE calls on them to ensure their priorities include the tens of thousands of animals also affected," says Mr Kriek.
"SAFE is concerned the poultry industry's contingency for emergency slaughter could result in compromised humane slaughter procedures. If the birds are forced to remain on farms for prolonged periods or transported to the North Island for slaughter, systems must be in place to mitigate as much suffering as possible".
In response, TVNZ reported that “Tegel group chief financial officer Rob Aitken says Tegel will work with the Poultry Industry Association in a bid to find alternative plant in order to keep the operation running.”
Despite the reports, the polystyrene industry in New Zealand still maintains it is a safe material. However, in a report titled “Effect of Heat on EPS” Plastics New Zealand admits the following: “As EPS is heated it softens, and at about 150ºC it begins to shrink. This continues until it is reduced to its original density prior to expansion. Continued heating will melt it to liquid and then a combustible gas will form above 200ºC. This gas can be ignited at temperatures between 360ºC and 380ºC, and will self ignite around 500ºC. When burning, it produces 40 - 45 MJ/Kg of heat. Temperatures of this magnitude usually occur only in well-developed fires.”
Tip Top Bakery Fire, Fairfield NSW, 2 June, 2002
Case Study: Major fire in Australian food production facility
The following extract from a NSW Fire Brigade Union report on the Tip Top Bakery Fire in Fairfield, NSW on 2nd June, 2002 acknowledges the fire susceptibility of polystyrene foam insulation panels:
“Polystyrene foam is thermoplastic, that is, it softens when heated. Thermoplastic materials tend to melt and shrink away from heat long before ignition. This melting causes voids that reduce the structural strength of the panels. As the panels buckle, the joints tend to open introducing flame and air into the core. This results in internal flame spread between the panels and throughout the structure and there is likely to be a rapid loss of structural strength and subsequent collapse of walls and ceilings. Polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams are both thermosetting materials, which means that
they do not melt, flow or drip when exposed to fire. Rather, they form a strong carbonaceous char that helps to protect the foam core and prevent flame spread within the panels themselves. It would appear that the insulated sandwich panels utilised in the construction of the Tip Top factory were constructed with polystyrene insulation. Construction using polystyrene insulated sandwich panels presents several major difficulties for fire fighting:
• The loss of adequate structural integrity and subsequent likelihood of significant building collapse;
• The combustibility of the insulation material adds substantially to the fire load and results in the production of large amounts of heat, smoke and toxic products;
• Fire spread can be hidden within the panels, and
• This fire spread can be rapid, leading to conditions that favour flashover.
There have been incidents in other countries where firefighters have lost their lives whilst engaged in offensive firefighting tactics in structures constructed with insulated sandwich panels. Firefighters need to be aware of the inherent dangers of this type of lightweight construction. Incident commanders must be aware that firefighting in these conditions can be extremely hazardous with early collapse, high fire load and massive smoke production being major factors affecting firefighter safety.”
Fonterra Dairy Factory Fire, Takaka NZ, 22 JUNE 2005
"Takaka, in Golden Bay, will count the cost today of a spectacular blaze that destroyed the town's dairy factory, its biggest employer," reported The Press in June 2005.
"The fire broke out at the Fonterra factory about 5pm and flames soon engulfed large parts of the building. Firefighters spent several hours battling huge flames as thick, black smoke, fed by polystyrene in the building's construction, billowed from the rapidly disintegrating factory," said the press report.
The factory, which employed 100 people, was the backbone of the town's economy.
More than 500 residents were evacuated, according to the Nelson Bays police area commander, Inspector Brian McGurk, because of the "potential for poisonous gases to be released" from combustible plastic material.
"It's a very spectacular blaze. I haven't seen one like this for a long, long time. Huge flames," McGurk said.
Westgate Cold Stores is an abattoir and meat processing complex, situated on a triangular shaped block, eleven hectares in size located in an industrial park just ten kilometres west of Melbourne’s CBD. The rendering plant building, where the $67million fire started, is north of the meat processing plan.
Panorama, the official journal of the AIRAH reports: "The Fire Brigade was called while staff tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze with a fire hose. The building was evacuated when the fire spread to polystyrene sandwich panels lining the ceiling and became too large to fight.... A strong northerly wind blowing through an open roller door in the north wall of the rendering plant building and the volume of polystyrene sandwich panels helped the fire spread quickly to an amenity block on the first floor of the meat processing plant building. It then spread quickly within the meat processing plant but because it had not breached the roof to any extent, it was difficult for fire crews to fight the fire from above using aerial appliances. Instead, they were forced to fight the fire internally using hose reels from fire brigade vehicles. Their task was made more difficult by limited visibility caused by thick black smoke and the complex internal layout of the building."
The final report (Post Incident Analysis & Fire Investigation Report, Post Incident
and Analysis Unit, Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board, Melbourne, 2001) made some broader recommendations in respect to fire safety and risk management. They
included:
"Building regulators and manufacturers are urged to recognise the fire hazards associated with the use of sandwich panels, containing a core combustible insulation, as a building material in non-sprinklered buildings..."
"Australian Standards developed in respect to the fire characteristics of building materials should pay special attention to materials such as sandwich panels containing a core of combustible insulation. In doing so, testing methods similar to those used in the US and Europe should be adopted to determine how such products perform under more realistic fire conditions."
It has been suggested that it was New Zealand’s largest food processing firestorm in history. The Tegel Poultry Processing Plant in the Christchurch suburb of Hornby was devastated on 5 January, 2007 in a conflagration the like of which fire fighters attending rarely see.
Polystyrene panels have been implicated in this tragedy which left the company scrambling for temporary space, under attack from animal rights activists, and paying fulltime salaries to staff with no work to do.
The Tegel fire set records. The total losses are estimated to be between NZ$50m and NZ$100m. The fire also broke records for the number of appliances attending. “Ten fire engines and more than 50 firefighters were called to the blaze, meaning every available firefighter in the city was on site,” said a news report.
The Fire Brigades’ Regional Commander Rob Saunders said: "They were supported by a number of firefighters from volunteer brigades from surrounding areas and call back staff were called back in to provide fire coverage for the Christchurch district."
TV New Zealand was on the spot to record the dramatic inferno. “The fire-fighters were battling 20m-high flames, the fire’s ferocity kept the first ground crew at a distance. They took to their new multi million dollar aerial towers.”
“With the flames came thick dark smoke fuelled by polystyrene that plumed over much of the western and southern city and precinct,” said the report.
The pure heat of the fire was such the investigation was delayed: “Fire safety officer Sue Trafford says the site examination has taken much longer than expected because the factory was so badly damaged,” said the television report.
The fire performance of polystyrene insulated panel in New Zealand was part of the New Zealand Fire Service’s Research Priorities for 2002/2003. It’s recommendation included the following: “Polystyrene Insulated Panel (PIP) has been used as a building material in New Zealand for over thirty years… There is growing concern, however, about the fire performance of the material within New Zealand and overseas. “ (http://www.fire.org.nz/research/reports/2002-2003.htm)
“The Hornby plant was a 24hour operation, killing 50 thousand chickens a day, mostly for the local market. It has more than 300 employees, half of them employed on the processing line that was destroyed,” reported One News.
Tegel's only South Island poultry slaughterhouse came under attack from SAFE, New Zealand's second largest animal advocacy organization. "Tegel's slaughterhouse operation in Hornby kills about 50,000 chickens each day. The massive backlog of chickens awaiting slaughter could cause serious welfare problems and result in increased bird mortalities," said Hans Kriek, campaign director of SAFE.
“The poultry industry has purposely produced a meat chicken that has an accelerated growth rate that allows the birds to be ‘table ready' at a mere six weeks of age. Their unnaturally large bodies place enormous strain on the birds' legs resulting in abnormal gait, lameness and pain.
"The destruction of the slaughterhouse could cause a delay in killing these fast-growing birds, which will increase the level of suffering. Tegel has publicly stated that their focus is on staff and customers but SAFE calls on them to ensure their priorities include the tens of thousands of animals also affected," says Mr Kriek.
"SAFE is concerned the poultry industry's contingency for emergency slaughter could result in compromised humane slaughter procedures. If the birds are forced to remain on farms for prolonged periods or transported to the North Island for slaughter, systems must be in place to mitigate as much suffering as possible".
In response, TVNZ reported that “Tegel group chief financial officer Rob Aitken says Tegel will work with the Poultry Industry Association in a bid to find alternative plant in order to keep the operation running.”
Despite the reports, the polystyrene industry in New Zealand still maintains it is a safe material. However, in a report titled “Effect of Heat on EPS” Plastics New Zealand admits the following: “As EPS is heated it softens, and at about 150ºC it begins to shrink. This continues until it is reduced to its original density prior to expansion. Continued heating will melt it to liquid and then a combustible gas will form above 200ºC. This gas can be ignited at temperatures between 360ºC and 380ºC, and will self ignite around 500ºC. When burning, it produces 40 - 45 MJ/Kg of heat. Temperatures of this magnitude usually occur only in well-developed fires.”
Tip Top Bakery Fire, Fairfield NSW, 2 June, 2002
Case Study: Major fire in Australian food production facility
The following extract from a NSW Fire Brigade Union report on the Tip Top Bakery Fire in Fairfield, NSW on 2nd June, 2002 acknowledges the fire susceptibility of polystyrene foam insulation panels:
“Polystyrene foam is thermoplastic, that is, it softens when heated. Thermoplastic materials tend to melt and shrink away from heat long before ignition. This melting causes voids that reduce the structural strength of the panels. As the panels buckle, the joints tend to open introducing flame and air into the core. This results in internal flame spread between the panels and throughout the structure and there is likely to be a rapid loss of structural strength and subsequent collapse of walls and ceilings. Polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams are both thermosetting materials, which means that
they do not melt, flow or drip when exposed to fire. Rather, they form a strong carbonaceous char that helps to protect the foam core and prevent flame spread within the panels themselves. It would appear that the insulated sandwich panels utilised in the construction of the Tip Top factory were constructed with polystyrene insulation. Construction using polystyrene insulated sandwich panels presents several major difficulties for fire fighting:
• The loss of adequate structural integrity and subsequent likelihood of significant building collapse;
• The combustibility of the insulation material adds substantially to the fire load and results in the production of large amounts of heat, smoke and toxic products;
• Fire spread can be hidden within the panels, and
• This fire spread can be rapid, leading to conditions that favour flashover.
There have been incidents in other countries where firefighters have lost their lives whilst engaged in offensive firefighting tactics in structures constructed with insulated sandwich panels. Firefighters need to be aware of the inherent dangers of this type of lightweight construction. Incident commanders must be aware that firefighting in these conditions can be extremely hazardous with early collapse, high fire load and massive smoke production being major factors affecting firefighter safety.”
Fonterra Dairy Factory Fire, Takaka NZ, 22 JUNE 2005
"Takaka, in Golden Bay, will count the cost today of a spectacular blaze that destroyed the town's dairy factory, its biggest employer," reported The Press in June 2005.
"The fire broke out at the Fonterra factory about 5pm and flames soon engulfed large parts of the building. Firefighters spent several hours battling huge flames as thick, black smoke, fed by polystyrene in the building's construction, billowed from the rapidly disintegrating factory," said the press report.
The factory, which employed 100 people, was the backbone of the town's economy.
More than 500 residents were evacuated, according to the Nelson Bays police area commander, Inspector Brian McGurk, because of the "potential for poisonous gases to be released" from combustible plastic material.
"It's a very spectacular blaze. I haven't seen one like this for a long, long time. Huge flames," McGurk said.
Westgate Cold Stores is an abattoir and meat processing complex, situated on a triangular shaped block, eleven hectares in size located in an industrial park just ten kilometres west of Melbourne’s CBD. The rendering plant building, where the $67million fire started, is north of the meat processing plan.
Panorama, the official journal of the AIRAH reports: "The Fire Brigade was called while staff tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the blaze with a fire hose. The building was evacuated when the fire spread to polystyrene sandwich panels lining the ceiling and became too large to fight.... A strong northerly wind blowing through an open roller door in the north wall of the rendering plant building and the volume of polystyrene sandwich panels helped the fire spread quickly to an amenity block on the first floor of the meat processing plant building. It then spread quickly within the meat processing plant but because it had not breached the roof to any extent, it was difficult for fire crews to fight the fire from above using aerial appliances. Instead, they were forced to fight the fire internally using hose reels from fire brigade vehicles. Their task was made more difficult by limited visibility caused by thick black smoke and the complex internal layout of the building."The final report (Post Incident Analysis & Fire Investigation Report, Post Incident
and Analysis Unit, Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board, Melbourne, 2001) made some broader recommendations in respect to fire safety and risk management. They
included:
"Building regulators and manufacturers are urged to recognise the fire hazards associated with the use of sandwich panels, containing a core combustible insulation, as a building material in non-sprinklered buildings..."
"Australian Standards developed in respect to the fire characteristics of building materials should pay special attention to materials such as sandwich panels containing a core of combustible insulation. In doing so, testing methods similar to those used in the US and Europe should be adopted to determine how such products perform under more realistic fire conditions."
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