Shop Fires !

mete

mete

Joined
Jun 10, 2003
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A reminder . FORD supplier that makes magnesium parts had a fire , shutting down the plant thus also shutting down the Ford F-150 production line [where my truck is ! ].
I found it incredible that the company and local FD didn't know enough to NOT use water to fight the fire ! But they did . They added water on a fire that caused an explosion !! :eek:
Magnesium, titanium and vanadium will burn intensely and require special proceedures to prevent fires and if necessary fight those fires .
Do not let machining chips and grinding dust to collect . Clean it up every day. The waste is typically mixed with sand. Not new information as I remember that pilots didn't want to fly aircraft made with magnesium from when magnesium was first used.
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I had a minor fire one time because of metal dust...

I had been filing aluminum for a while, so there was a pile of dust all over my bench, then I started using an angle grinder on some steel...

yeah. Any guesses?

That’s right! Instant thermite! It didn’t burn anything really bad, but it sure scared the snot out of me!!!
 
those survival firestarters that you scrape off a bunch of it with a knife, and then light with a spark, are magnesium. burns fast and hot. i was always surprised they made car tire rims ( mags) with it because i do not think you can put it out.
 
I was counter boring a titanium handle with a steel counter bore on my mill. Had been drilling titanium most of the morning and the night before. started a small class D fire on the mill table. Not cool at all......
 
Huh. Hadn't heard about that one.

Either someone needs to have a serious discussion on hazmat labeling with the manufacturer, or the FD needs to send their fire fighters back to school on dealing with hazmat fires...
 
I don’t grind Aluminum or Mag, but I had a few frantic moments running for my fire extinguisher after shaping a bunch or Ironwood and then grinding on Carbon Steel and causing a fire :eek::eek::eek:in my barrel Vac cleaner I was using as a collector! Stay safe & have Fun!;)
 
Ugh. To be honest, I have a pretty big pile of grinding dust under my machine right now

I'm a bit of a slob when it comes to cleaning but I guess I use this as a kick in the *** to get it cleaned up.
 
Thanks for the tip and reminder!! I don't grind mag but water seems to put ti fires out just fine... It all goes into a big 10-12" cone that goes through a 5" opening into a water bucket and haven't had any issues so far. I only turn the vacuum on if I'm grinding wood/micarta/g10 etc.
 
I’m always concerned about my antique leaky mill catching fire from a hot chip or spark, think I will go buy another fire extinguisher
 
my biggest concern is wood dust and steel dust settling in a hard to reach crack or corner and combusting while I'm not at the shop. Its never happened but I apparently its possible under the right conditions.
 
valknut said:
What class fire extinguisher fo you need for mag, ti, zirc, etc?
Click to expand...
Class ”D” fires are burning alkaline metals. Various dry powders are used to extinguish. Smother the fire & draw heat out.

Fwiw, if one believes the press, Magnesium disaster OP mentioned was caused by the buildings sprinkler system wetting molten magnesium. The Fire Brigade did nothing but deal with aftermath. Further, the plant safety seems dodgy based on various violations in recent times.
 
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As it was explained to me.....burning magnesium will separate the H, and the 2O...." in water and...........
 
I'm surprised the factory doesn't have an appropriate suppression system already in place. I imagine they will have by the time OSHA gets done, if they end up involved.
 
They had fire the poured water on containers of MOLTEN magnesium. Instant violent explosion which blew people out of the building. Someone told me that you could probably put out a vanadium fire wit water , but it would require an enormous amount of water ! :D
 
I used to work in a factory shop making wooden spiral staircases and i actually caught a piece of wood on fire with a drill press. Of course, i had been drilling holes for about 2 hours solid (imagine angle brackets stacked 10 feet high totally surrounding you and drilling them as fast as possible) and that bit was mighty hot. It burned out in about 5 seconds but it was pretty amazing it could happen.
 
grind titanium all the time ,have had a few exciting moments, no big deal to put out . as little as 1/8 inch of dust will burn very bright and hot.
had chips of titanium on the milling machine catch and burn a hole through the accordian chip guard. i guess it needed the broken in thing or something.
definitely something to keep a eye on while working
 
I've never had a metal fire, although I do keep a bucket of dry sand with a scoop in it in the shop just incase. I have had a dust collector fire though. Having a 10# co2 extinguisher 5' away that I dumped into the dust scoop may very well have saved my shop. I keep a 10# co2 beside my bench, one beside my edm machine which is in the middle of the shop, and then a 10# ABC beside my bench, and a 20# ABC beside the exit door. The bucket of sand is beside my bandsaw which is in only a few feet from the grinders and drill presses.
 
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