Analysis Of Bulk Plant Fire

[Music] of why it became a disaster on August 18th 1959 in Kansas City television station MBC took one of the most spectacular on the spot fire movies you will ever see from the pictures taken that day the TV station has edited and narrated a 7-minute film the film they made received the medil school of Journalism Citation for television news coverage this educational value and station KMBC is to be commended for making it available to the public it's rare indeed that Monday morning quity to visually review such a fire in as much as the film was produced for news reporting purposes it is narrated in newscaster style shown without explanation it may leave the impression that any petroleum bulk plant can be vulnerable to the same type of tragic fire of course this is not true at all if accompanied by an explanation as to just what happened and how and why it happened the film of this fire can be a powerful agency in furthering fire protection education it is the purpose of this presentation to furnish a part of this explanation concerning the chain of events before and during the fire and to give widespread circulation to the lessons that have been learned from it in the film you will see how tanks can react when they're not equipped with the protective devices recommended by present day standards before viewing the film let's examine the layout of the involved plant here is a scale model there were four 21,000 Gall tanks supported on concrete foundations tank number one contained 6,500 Gall of kerosene tank number two contained 16,000 gallons of gasoline tank number three contained 3,000 gallons of gasoline and tank number four contained 16,000 gallons of gasoline you will notice that the bulk plant was located behind the gasoline service station and that the loading rack for trucks was in a tunnel likee roofed over area behind the service stationing building you will also note that although the tank was in Kansas the Kansas Missouri state line was about 150 ft from the tanks now let's look at the sequence of events just before and during the fire the fire began while gasoline was being loaded into a tank truck through two 2in gravity lines the loader and an off-duty employee were at the truck when the flash occurred the loader ran to call the fire department the flow of gasoline continued until the truck overflowed causing the burning gasoline to spread onto the ground and the fire then involved the service station and the loading Area fire departments responded with nearly a 100 men firemen were concentrated in this location with most of the water directed toward the fire around the station and the loading area the fire gradually increased in intensity for about 1 and 3/4 hours when the rear end of one of the tanks ruptured this was followed at about 5 minute intervals by the rear end rupture of two more tanks the rupture of these tanks resulted in a tremendous increase in the intensity of the fire a few minutes later 15 to 20 minutes after the first tank had ruptured tank number four ruptured this tank also failed at the rear end and in this instance the tank itself was hurled some 94 ft into the street apparently upon contact with the pavement the front end also opened up the result was a rapid spread of flames which overran the fire line and took the lives of six firemen this description of event is for the purpose of clarifying circumstances of the fire and the factors which contributed to its serious consequences not for the purpose of placing blame but rather to emphasize the lessons which have been learned this was an accident that should never have happened it did happen because of an almost unbelievable Coincidence of a series of unfavorable conditions or contributing factors the absence of any one of these factors might have prevented the end result now you will see the television news film of the fire as narrated by the newscaster Kansas City is one of America's most peaceful and beautiful large cities rarely does an incident of violence hurl Kansas City into the glare of national news headlines but late in the summer of 1959 a spark touched off a raging Inferno which killed six brave men and injured more than 100 some of the men you'll be seeing in the news coverage of this tragedy are now dead this is a presentation of KMBC TV in Kansas City Missouri this is where tragedy struck in Kansas City it's shortly after 9:00 the morning of Tuesday August 18th 1959 the location busy Southwest Boulevard on the Kansas side of the Missouri Kansas Line This is what is left of a service station and bulk gasoline storage plant the fire has been raging for an hour it apparently began when two men were loading gasoline into a tank truck truck on the service station Drive these three men later died the heat of the fire combined with a fierce heat from the sun made the fire line an extremely hot place dozens of firemen had already dropped from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation ambulances were moving in a steady stream to and from 11 Kansas City hospitals they couldn't arrive fast enough to accommodate all the injured firemen they had been carried away from their stations and placed in the shade where their fellow firemen could administer oxygen and other first aid the temperature in Kansas City that morning was extremely high and these firemen could really feel it 19 companies from both Kansas City Kansas and Kansas City Missouri were there many had fallen more were to fall before this one was whipped the high number of injuries brought a call for all available ambulances in Greater Kansas City linemen from utility companies had to sever burning wires which were further endangering the firefighters still the fire raged although the firemen had been able to keep the Flames away from the huge gasoline tanks each of these tanks had 21,00 gallon capacity that was where the big fight was centered the firefighters used fog nozzles to reduce the water to a fine spray to smother the fire and to try to keep the tanks cool here the camera saw the fire from the fireman's point of view at this point deadly gasoline was 74 ft Straight Ahead these also are about to be fatal victims of the fire hundreds of feet of Hose were used in the big fight some of the lines had to be drawn from two blocks away from the fire much of this hose was to be destroyed later several of the men Manning the hes were to die searing heat blistered the faces of these men they had to leave the fire line every few minutes and seek relief from the heat then back to the Grim business of protecting our city for some the final face washing of their lives danger was everywhere suddenly the Flames brightened it was apparent the fire had eaten its way to one of the big tanks the fireball that went up was evidence the fire had found a new fuel supply minutes ago firemen had the situation under control in seconds they'll be running for their lives one explosion and a fireball followed by another sent the Flames hundreds of feet into the air visible for 15 mil in all directions this was dangerous still the firemen stayed at their posts they continued to battle this giant which now threatened to consume them the Roar of the Flames was similar to the sound of a large jet airplane fire experts say this was a stream of Liquid Fire spewing out the back of a tank which was already badly ruptured TI Chiefs ordered their men back but sadly not in time and there it goes the Flames engulfed six firemen who tried to run they couldn't get away from this Inferno and they tripped as they tried blindly to get away assistants knocked some of them down and tried to beat out the Flames their screams will haunt many men for many years to come ambulances which had waited in line now rushed into the fire area as quickly as injured firemen could be dragged from the Flames they were rushed to hospitals 12 were hurt critically six of them were to die in the few days following this tragedy doctors firemen and police crowded around the casualties for those less seriously hurt first aid was given so that ambulances might take the most critically injured first the faces of some were so badly burned oxygen couldn't be administered six received the last rights of the Catholic church at the scene two of these men lived only 3 hours four others lived as long as 6 days others were less seriously hurt but would have to be hospital patients for some time for the others more ambulances arrived burns on the face and arms were agonizing for one injured firefighter he would be in bed for a long time if he was lucky enough to live another fireman was so badly burned about the back that he rode to the hospital on his stomach he received medical treatment on the way the property damage was not too spectacular in terms of physical equipment two trucks two cars the service station the gasoline storage tank and one large fire Tru which was caught in the big explosion but the human misery and loss of life can never be measured in dollars and C debris from the explosion was scattered over a wide area the huge gasoline tank was ripped apart and moved 94 ft as it overran the fireman's positions but there was still a fire to be fought much water was still needed the firemen went back to work with a grim tenacity less than an hour later they had the situation under control for the final time had the explosion come in a slightly different position KMBC TV news cameraman Joe Adams would surely have been among the casualties in slow motion the buildup to the explosion began this way the Flames which had appeared to be under control minutes earlier had found a new fuel supply this was accompanied by a loud noise which sounded almost identical to the sound of a jet airplane at this point most of the people at the scene began moving back then it happened the huge gasoline tank burst sending a stream of Blazing fuel across the street surrounding the helpless firemen in a sea of flame the tank actually shot forward the firemen were 74 ft from the tank it moved 94 ft overrunning their line by some 20 ft one man was a fire he was one of the six who died later this has been a presentation of KMBC TV news Kansas City Missouri you have just seen the tragic result of an almost unbelievable Coincidence of a series of unfavorable conditions or contributing factors the absence of any one of these factors might have prevented the end results it was a chain of circumstances each link taken by itself might seem unimportant and yet each link represented an opportunity to interrupt the chain no one can single out any one of the these factors and establish that it alone was responsible all are important and in each of these there's a lesson to be learned let us trace the course of this fire from start to finish the plant was built in 1927 although it was in accord with the construction standards in use at the time it was built some of the design features would not be in accord with the standards of a plant being built today the truck loading rack was covered by a roof extending from the service station to a masonry wall and was only a few feet from the tanks greater spacing in today's standards reduces exposure to tanks if a truck looting rack fire should occur it should be mentioned at this point that while the service station building was destroyed the service station fire as such did not contribute to the loss of life or other property in fact not one gallon of gasoline from the service station's underground storage tanks immed mediately below the fire was burned nor were the tanks damaged in any way of course this need not be surprising because fire records show that there never has been a gallon of gasoline burned in a service station's underground tanks during an exposure fire nor has any underground tank exploded during such a fire next let us learn about the ignition the fire started while a tank truck was being filled at the loading rack and off duty employee had come to the Loading rack to visit with the loader the exact source of ignition is not known it is known however that this visitor had a new unfilled cigarette lighter and he had it enclosed in his hand as he climbed onto the truck loading rack as the loader and his visitor jumped or fell to the ground the gasoline continued to flow into the truck ultimately causing burning gasoline to flow onto the ground if the flow of gasoline had been cut off in some manner before the Overflow occurred the fire might have been quite minor Apparently one of the self-closing valves did not function and this allowed the flow to continue by gravity through one of the lines the flow of product can be controlled by any one of several means for example devices to automatically shut off the flow of product in an emergency are a feature of modern loading racks the proper functioning of these devices is important in preventing or controlling fires one example of such a device is a spring-loaded valve at the end of a loading line or hose another device is a self-closing valve in the line to the Loading tube or hose another is a preset meter which shuts off the flow of product when the quantity to be loaded has been metered control to prevent overflow may also also be by remote shut off of the pump supplying the rack a fire at a fill opening of a truck is quite easily extinguished if the fuel is not overflowing the truck at the time the decisions on how to fight a fire made during an emergency must have necessity be made quickly and do not always concur with those conclusions made with the benefit of time and study after a fire is out it is reported that one group of firemen attempted to close the valves on the tanks under the cover of water spray but they could not reach them this would have stopped the flow of fuel that was feeding the fire a study of pictures that were made during the fire would seem to indicate that if an opening had been made in the fence surrounding the tanks and if the fireman wearing regular fireman's protective clothing had been supported by two or three hose lines with spray nozzles it might have been possible to close the one valve through which the fuel was flowing this conclusion seems valid in view of the fact that the slope of ground was away from the tanks the next Link in the chain of circumstances also involves firefighting tactics apparently the plan of attack was to prevent burning gasoline from running into the street and possibly into a sewer much of the effort it seems was devoted to this plan it is the experience of some City fire departments that flushing spilled gasoline lean into a sewer is an effective way to control or prevent a spill fire unfortunately their plan of attack resulted in the burning gasoline being pushed back under the tanks the first motion pictures taken an hour or so after the start of the fire clearly indicate very little Headway in the attack on the fire at this stage firefighting objectiv should have been to approach the tanks from the sides and apply water to cool the tanks to wash spilled gasoline out from under the tanks where it could burn without heating the Tank's contents and to shut off the flow of fuel by closing the valve at the tank if possible fighting the fire from the side of the tanks keeps the firemen out of the way of burning gasoline if the tank should fail and at the same time their hose streams are effective in reaching the tanks and keeping them cool thus preventing tank failure because of a buildup of internal pressure it is reported that some water was used to cool the tanks however at the time the picture was taken not one of the hose streams shown was actually reaching the tanks whether the burning gasoline was pushed by hose streams or flowed under the tanks it brings up another of the chain of circumstances this is the question of emergency tank valves some Engineers recommend emergency valves with heat actuating devices for certain types of Tanks such as at F plants such valves would have automatically shut off the flow of fuel when the heat of the fire reached the fusible element on each tank valve the next and very important Link in the chain of events relates to preventing the rupture of the tanks by not permitting the pressure to build up inside of the tank because gasoline is very volatile The Vapor air mixture in a tank storing gasoline is normally too rich to burn or explode in the tanks the tanks you saw rupture in the film did not fail because of gasoline either burning or exploding inside of them they ruptured because there was a buildup of pressure within the tank which was due to the long and continued exposure to extreme heat from the fire around them this caused the liquid to boil thus building up pressure much in the same manner that an overheated steam boiler would build up excess pressure and burst if it did not have a safety valve Engineers have now designed pressure relief devices to prevent tanks from bursting this is one of the simplest forms of pressure relief device this vent is nothing more than a cover over an opening in the tank it is held down by its own weight when the pressure in the tank exceeds a designated number of ounces per square in the vent opens allowing the pressure to be released let's see how the this works we'll let this flask represent the storage tank you'll notice that there is some gasoline in it now I'll place this Crucible in the neck of the flask this Crucible represents the pressure relief that I'll pour a small quantity of fuel into this pan and ignite it to simulate a tank involved in a fire when we place the flame under the flask representing the tank the gasoline begins to boil with this small amount of fuel it takes only a few seconds to build up enough pressure to force the vapors out through the pressure relief vent naturally The Vapor catches fire and it continues to burn as long as external heat is applied but this discharge of vapor prevents the flask or tank from rupturing you will also notice that there is no fire in the flask because there's not enough air inside of it to support combustion after the fire around the tank has been extinguished or flushed away and the tank has cooled the flame at the relief vent will either go out or die down to the point where it can easily be extinguished back in 1927 when the tanks you saw in the fire movie were installed a of this size was considered adequate tanks installed under today's standards would also have additional emergency relief vending capacity experience has shown that every flammable liquid storage tank regardless of when installed should be equipped with adequate device to relieve internal pressure many tanks not originally equipped with these excess pressure relief vents have now been so equipped as you have seen there were several different unfavorable conditions or contributing factors to This Disaster without a source of ignition the fire would never have started had the flow of gasoline been shut off or shut off automatically when the loader left the loading rack the fire would have been confined to the Dome of the truck if the truck loading rack had been further away from the tanks as now recommended the fire might more easily have been kept away from the tanks had the tanks been equipped with heat actuated emergency discharge control valves the valves would have shut off the flow of fuel automatically when the heat of the fire reached the tanks had the first firemen to arrive approached the tanks from another direction or cut through the fence surrounding the tanks under the protection of water fog they might have been able to shut off the flow of fuel had the fire fighting been concentrated from the side so that the fire could be kept from under the tanks and the tanks been kept cool with water the tanks probably would not have ruptured it's a standard practice to fight a fire involving horizontal tanks from the sides experience has shown that if the tank does rupture the break is more likely to occur at the ends had the burning gasoline not been forced back under the tanks the tanks might not have ruptured if at the time the tanks were built in 1927 emergency pressure relief devices as are now standard had been installed it is expected that these tanks would have gone through this fire without rupturing many of the points brought out in this film analysis are the result of a detailed study after the fire was out during the progress of a fire there's little time for a detailed study the fact that this type of fire occurs so rarely makes pre-fire planting all the more important during the calm of an ordinary working day is the time for fire officers and plant operators to examine and discuss the physical facilities of the plant and to lay out plans in the event of an emergency these are some of the important lessons to be learned from This Disaster it is sincerely hope that they will be well learned [Music] h