Incident Report Subject: CANADA - SHIPPING CONTAINER EXPLODES, KILLING FIREFIGHTER Date of Email report: Fri 17/10/2014 10:25 Report Detail:
Dear JOIFF members – you should glean learning experiences from all situations where injury or fatality occur. Here a somewhat innocuous container with what would under normal circumstance be considered none hazardous presented a fatal outcome for one fire-fighter. Learn from this and ensure the message is passed to your team members. The short video should be viewed and the incident discussed. Are your dynamic risk assessment processes enough? Gasoline from gas-powered equipment, and other flammable liquids inside a shipping container vaporized and exploded. Tragically, a firefighter lost his life. Summary: Two firefighters were fighting a fire at the site of a log home construction business. When the fire was almost extinguished, a metal shipping container exploded. Flying debris from the explosion struck one of the firefighters, who sustained fatal injuries. Cause: Ignition of fuel vapour in enclosed metal shipping container: Fuel vapour accumulated inside the enclosed shipping container and ignited, resulting in an explosion that blew the steel doors off. Underlying Factors: Hazard not recognized: Gasoline-powered tools were stored in the shipping container. The firefighters did not recognize the small amount of fuel in these tools as a potential hazard. Shipping Container next to Combustible Structure: Placing a shipping container next to a combustible structure can leave it susceptible to exposure to extreme temperature in the event that the combustible structure ignites. Limited Ventilation in Shipping Containers: Shipping containers are designed to be sealed except for small vent holes in the upper corners. When these containers are used for storage and are not modified to increase ventilation, a hazardous mixture of fuel vapour can remain in the container.
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