Water sprayed on fire triggers explosions... Fire authorities turn to sand to put it out

【Financial News, Ulsan Metropolitan City = Reporter Choi Soo-sang】 A fire broke out at a waste company in Ulsan Metropolitan City, and fire authorities brought the main blaze under control by spreading sand.
According to Ulsan Fire Headquarters, a report was received at around 1:47 p.m. on the 28th that a fire had broken out at a sorting warehouse belonging to a waste company in Haknam-ri, Onsan-eup, Ulju County, Ulsan Metropolitan City. A total of 64 personnel and 29 pieces of equipment were deployed.
Firefighters sprayed water from hoses to bring the flames under control, but a series of explosions occurred inside the warehouse, making it difficult to extinguish the fire.
After determining that the warehouse contained a substance that explodes on contact with water, fire authorities switched to a “smothering” method.
The method involves using heavy equipment to cover the burning waste with 25 tonnes of expanded vermiculite and 5 tonnes of dry sand. Fortunately, the main blaze was brought under control in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. There were no further explosions and no casualties.
A fire had also broken out at the company on the 22nd, and authorities had deployed 61 personnel and 30 pieces of equipment to extinguish it in about an hour.
Police and fire authorities plan to investigate the exact cause and extent of the damage once firefighting operations are complete.


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