Fire In the Hole!

Fire Extinguishing Ball

Pretty cool. 

Back when I worked for Boise Cascade at the St. Helens paper mill, there was a fire on the number 2 paper machine during my shift. I had never been trained to fight an industrial fire, but the 5th hand I worked with was on the fire crew. He was completely helpless! That surprised me. I asked him if we were required to fight the fire. He just stared open mouthed. In the end I called the Backtender over to call the fire brigade, while I fought the fire.

To be clear, the fire was at least 20' across, and about 2 stories high, it was a very big fire, and expanding. (It was caused by oil and grease at the back of the machine becoming liquid after the fire started, and heated the area up.)


We had a bank of fire extinguishers, perhaps a dozen along one wall. And I simply went to town pulling the pin, bumping the top, and hosing down the base of the fire. While somewhat effective, the fire had begun below the floor, and had burned up through holes cut in the concrete floor, so I could not address the source of the fire. I went through about 4 or 5 extinguishers before I realized the fire needed to be fought in the basement. I could reduce the topside fire, but because the flames below would quickly restart it, I could not stop the fire. 


Even after I asked the 5th hand to go down and fight the source of the fire, he simply stood there agog. (While I reduced the size of the fire, it was still very large, and very hot, involving much of the piping and machinery at the back of the machine. I admit it was impressive, and a bit concerning.) Eventually I gave him a fire extinguisher, and jogged off to the basement to fight the source of the fire. I got there just as the fire crew, all suited up in fire fighting gear showed up. I mostly had the source of the fire out before they got into action, but I left them and went topside to make sure the fire above was also out. 


The 5th hand proved useless, he was still standing with the pinned extinguisher. So, I pulled the pin, bumped the top, and put the remaining fire out topside; we kicked out the reel, reversed the broke belts, and slabbed off about 15" of extinguisher chemical damaged paper, to be burned in the incinerator. 


We were back to work within a half hour of when I first noticed the fire. 


This ball seems like a good idea!