How can gas fires be extinguished?

[bum291]

Gas wells, pilelines or storage tanks that burn like a rocket engine. Does anyone know how these fires could be extinguished? Powder, impulse fire extinguisher, explosives?

[CaptainGonzo]

Three entirely different types of "the animal"...

Gas wells: call in the pros.... Red Adair or Boots & Coots.

Pipelines: let the gas supply burn off, protect exposures.

Storage tanks: foam it foam it foam it!

[jbrescue]

Just don't forget that if you are going to use foam, make sure you have way more than you are going to need before you even start application. If you run short, you just wasted your foam.

[bum291]

Yes, our method of dealing with the liquid natural gas tanks we have is to get the valves shut, cool the tanks while the fire burns out of fuel. As with the oil storage tanks, foam is the word.

But how do the pros put out gas wells?

[jbrescue]

Big BOOM to remove the oxygen is the only way I have seen it done.

[mtnfireguy]

We deal with methane gas wells, compressor stations and pipelines (low and high pressure) and oil wells, treaters, and tank batteries.

Gas.... Have the operator shut the supply off or shut in the well and protect exposures. The fire will go out shortly afterwards. If it involves a building, we extinguish what is left.

Oil - Shut off what can be shut off and as the other have said, foam.
Be careful of storage tanks as you can overflow the tank and cause big problems

[rhvfd1214]

I worked for a few years on gas compressors as a mechanic. The most important thing we had to know was how to shut in the compressors. There is usually a suction side(coming from the actual drilled well) and the pipeline side( the high pressure side that feeds the network.) If you have these in your area, it is always a good idea to learn which valves will close the pipelines and wells down to allow a fire to burn out. There should also be valves to close off the vents that lead to the tank where the waste oil and water from the wells collects. The compressors usually use gas pressure to push the oil/water/and flammable liquids out of accumulators on the compressors and into the tanks. Most of these liquid dumps are float activated, and will send gas to the tanks without warning. If you have a tank fire, you would definitely want to shut the well in and close the valves that lead to the tank to remove the gas as a fuel source. Tank fires should be confined to the earthen barrier that is built around the tank, and as stated, DO NOT OVERFLOW THE TANKS or the dirt barriers. If the tank overflows, you will have an environmental spill to deal with as well.

[chugiaklt2]

Oil and Gas fires are more complex to deal with then your normal everyday room and contents or full involved structure fire. There are many things to take into account before you start working on an Oil or Gas fire.
- If it is a presurized gas it is best to not put the fire out, isolate the fuel source.AS long as the fuel is burning you know the vapors are being burned up.If you put the fire out the vapors will migrate until they find an ignition source and then possibly explode.
- If it is a pool of gas or oil isolate the fuel source from adding anymore fuel and then foam it.You can also do a combination attack of foam and dry chem/ Purple K. The dry chem will help eliminate the self sustained chemical reaction and the foam will work faster if the flames are knocked down.
Before you start any operation you should make sure that you have all tools you need to complete the task. Foam will be the important part of the operation, do not start foaming until you have more foam then you will need.You must also make sure that if you are not in a area where you have hydrants that you can sustain water supply. A good rule of thumb is 500 gpm per flame impingment.

This is just the beggining of an attack, and you should not try these tactics in the field until you have drilled on them.