HELL Opus rave
December 2, 1999
Mr. Frederick W. Byars
Regional Sales Manager
Hazard Control Technologies, Inc.
8429 Ashford Road
Woodbury, MN $5125
Dear Mr. Byars:
Just a follow-up to our recent bunker fire incident at our Will County (WC) Station
First of all, let me thank you for your quick response (o our fire incident. Not every
vendor would drive 13 hrs+ on short notice to support a customer. Your assistance in
extinguishing the bunker fire at Will County Station was very helpful and much
appreciated.
The following is a brief summary of our recent experiences with F-500.
As you know, WC experienced a number of bunker fires this summer, Most of these
fites were minor and were detected early enough that they were casily extinguished
using water and foam. Your product, although onsite, was not used because the
station's fire brigade was not familiar with it, had not used it before, nor had they
seen it work. This all changed when they encountered a stubborn fire which did not
respond to the water and foam applications
The fire (smoldering coal) was located near one of the comers of a filled to capacity
rectangular 600 ton bunker. Using a thermography gun the area of the fire was
determined to be approximately 20 fi. x 10 ft. Over a 2-3 day period the brigade
made several attempis to extinguish the fire with water and foam but was
unsuccessful. The fire was finally extinguished with one application of F-300
(approximately 10 gals. at 3%),
‘Our most recent fire and the one you assisted us with was in the same bunker as the
‘one above. When the fire was discovered, water and F-500 were used to extinguish
the fire. This attempt may have work had it not been for the fact that the fire area was
larger than the area of application. Because the fire was not completely extinguished
it continued to smolder and grow. By the time you arrived, the fire encompassed a
surface area approximately 30 x 30 ft, and approximately 10 deep. The fact that
smoldering coal was well below the surface made the extinguishing process very
difficult. The only manner to extinguish the fire was to begin to empty the bunkerwhile applying F-500. This process worked because as the bunker began to empty,
the coal layers would shift and expose more and more layers of smoldering coal. This
allowed the F-500 to reach the smoldering coal. In all, approximately 55 gals of F-
500 @ 1% were used over this 10-hour evolution.
During both these fires we observed the F-500 to have immediate positive results,
‘Temperature readings, thermograph readings, and visual signs taken during and after
each application indicated the fires were being controlled, if not completely
extinguished.
Sincerely,
J
¢
Caflos J. Diaz
Director of Safety & Health
Fossil Generation Group
CD:tlw