PAPER MILL FIRES
STRATEGY & TACTICS
Many areas of the country are blessed with abundant water supplies that support acre upon acre of forests and pulp trees. Naturally in such places paper mills, along with such ancillary industries as carton mills, box shops, and recycling plants, are common. Fire in places of paper production and storage can pose serious firefighting problems.
PAPER STORAGE
Bulk paper, whether old, new, finished product, or trash, is stored in a variety of ways. Scrap paper for processing usually is wired in bales that are about 21/2 feet square and five feet long and weigh about 1,000 pounds each; it’s not uncommon to find these in exterior storage, stacked 15 to 25 feet high over an area of one-half acre or even several acres.
Rolled paper and finished product are more valuable and therefore are stored indoors. Rolls can exceed 4,000 pounds and may be stacked tw o or three high. Sheet goods, generally a finished product from the rolls, are stored on pallets and skids in a separate area. High rack storage is not uncommon.
GENERAL FIREFIGHTING HAZARDS
Baled scrap paper poses a particularly dangerous fire. A fire of any magnitude will burrow into the bales and burn unchecked. It will burn a void in the bale, creating the possibility of a cave-in. Don’t be tempted to operate handlines from atop these bales—the bottom could drop out and send you into an inferno.
It’s important to maintain a safe perimeter around the bales. As with potential wall collapse, you must establish a danger zone and stay outside of it. The zone should be doubled for downhill areas. Baled paper is spongy. Top bales toppling 20 feet will bounce and roll and crush everything in their path. After prolonged water application the bottom bales swell, shift, and eventually collapse, causing all bales above to fall. At such an incident falling bales are not a probability but a certainty.
Applying massive amounts of water to a bulk paper fire increases the potential for drowning. Typically, the exterior baled paper storage area is near loading docks, with the parking areas five to six feet below grade. Elevated water levels can conceal these areas, making the terrain appear even or shallow. One misstep and the firefighter ends up in the pool. This has very serious implications for a firefighter wearing about 50 pounds of turnout gear and SCBA.
Interior roll storage fires pose many of the same problems as exterior bale storage fires, but in addition there’s the potential for structural collapse. The sheer weight of the paper storage alone sometimes stresses building floors, let alone adding hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. Even if water scuppers or some other means of w ater removal are used, these bales and rolls absorb many times their own weight in water. What started out as a 4,600-pound roll of paper ends up as a 12,000-pound hunk of pulp. It’s easy to see the potential for collapse when you multiply this by 200 bales. Enough water absorption can cause the rolls to swell to the extent that they push out walls through floors and ceilings, destroying structural integrity. This happened in our town in the 1930s. Water-soaked paper rolls pushed through and broke a 12-inchthick concrete floor. Remember, too, that when using fork lifts, tow motors, or other lifting devices to overhaul paper fires, it’s extremely important to be sensitive to the collapse danger: Look, listen, and feel —the extra weight of equipment could be enough to bring down the structure.
(Photo by Robert Walton.)
Automatic sprinklers, though they have saved many buildings in which paper stock was involved in fire, ironically factor in another danger to firefighters: Free-burning paper produces very little smoke, but when water is applied, significant amounts of smoke and steam are released. Coupled with the smoke and steam from the damp paper trying to ignite, visibility is reduced to zero. Natural ventilation, either horizontal or vertical, is not effective because the reduced temperature and increased humidity resuit in a decrease in buoyancy of the smoke and fire gases. Walking or crawling blindly in such zero-visibility conditions, the firefighter could become lost among whirring machinery, unguarded holes in the floor, vats of boiling liquid, or any number of hazardous substances. Loose turnout gear could be pulled into paper rollers. Under such conditions a wellcoordinated team search is imperative (see “Team Search,” Fire Engineering, November 1987). Lifelines, personal ropes, and hand lights are basic for quick withdrawal should it be necessary. Portable radios and personal alarm devices are also vital should firefighters become trapped. Travel into a large warehouse only as far as one-half of your air supply will take you.
OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
- Generally the life hazards in bulk paper storage fires are small (these fires typically occur at night when the mill is down or they occur in a storage area remote from where employees are working) but the first consideration of the arriving company officer or incident commander should be the evacuation of any parts of the mill or warehouse that may be needed.
- With a large paper fire, call for more help before it’s needed. An extra company or a full extra alarm should be called by the first-arriving officer for any appreciable smoke or fire showing. Get help early—it will pay off in the long run.
- The officer or apparatus operator must choose his water supply carefully. After operations start, it’s not uncommon to strip a pumper completely of hose. It’s very difficult to change hydrants after the fact; once hooked up you usually settle in for “the long haul.” The nearest hydrant may not be the best on exterior fires. The “surround and drown” tactic is often used, so pick a water supply capable of supplying lengthy master stream operations.
- For an exterior fire the first lines should be placed between the fire and the most significant exposure. These lines should be 2 1/2-inch solid stream for volume and penetration. If mobility is the concern, hoselines can be used, but they are best used in pairs.
In dry weather, fire brands and floating burning paper add to the exposure problem. They can travel thousands of yards and wreak havoc in surrounding areas. If possible, put a roving crew in service to handle them.
• After the first lines protecting exposures are laid for exterior fires, the next probable course of action will be to place master streams into operation. While this sounds simple, it requires forethought. Deck guns or deluge guns must be placed for optimal performance. They must be able to reach the seat of the fire yet be maneuverable enough to protect exposures. Flanking the fire on the downwind side often is effective for stopping the fire’s progress. On a freeburning fire, aggressive elevated master streams are probably the most beneficial. With deluge guns, crews have a tendency to put out perimeter fire while the center of the fire goes unchecked. With ladder pipes, coverage in the center becomes easier. Circumstances permitting, the best direction for the ladder pipe is downwind. The large amount of water from the elevated streams will almost always stop the fire’s progress. A word of caution here: Your ladder truck is a half-million dollar exposure. Its position should depend on its ability to reach the seat of the fire and still be outside the collapse zone.
From time to time shut down the master streams temporarily. This is advantageous for several reasons: It allows the steam to clear—sometimes you’ll find the fire has been out and you’ve been dumping tons of water on steam; it gives you the opportunity to determine whether it’s necessary to reposition the truck for final extinguishment; it may help to limit water damage; and it gives hose crews a short break. If the fire flares up again (and it can for days), all the water needed will be available at the change of a valve.
• For interior fires, assessment of fire protection devices must be made. This should have been done during preplanning. If equipped with automatic sprinklers, one of the first supply lines should augment the sprinkler system through its connection. The sprinklers most likely will hold the fire in check until crews can find the seat of the fire and operate with handlines. If the building is so equipped, standpipes make for the easiest and quickest attack. Otherwise, stretch hose from the pumper and attempt a quick, aggressive knockdown. Many times due to heavy smoke and steam conditions the only way you know you are getting close to the seat of the fire is when the sprinkler discharge water gets hotter and hotter. For interior fires it’s better to foresake volume for mobility. Oneand-three-quarter-inch lines move much easier around bales, rolls, and machinery than does 2’/2-inch hose.
The combination attack of a sprinkler system and handlines usually effects quick knockdown and control. In buildings without sprinklers every effort should be made for a quick knockdown; however, the officer should always be aware of any structural change or involvement. If stability is in question, interior crews should be removed and defensive operations should be initiated.
• As in any interior fire in an industrial or commercial structure, it is important to make use of all built-in fire protection equipment. This isn’t limited to sprinklers and standpipes — fire doors, smoke baffles, automatic roof vents, and fire pumps all should be used to your advantage. When time allows, send a crew to these local commercial operations to check fire protection features—the sooner the better. Some industrial occupancies are notorious for blocking fire doors and breaching fire walls.
A word of caution when advancing hoselines into areas protected by fire doors: Station one person by the door or place a block large enough to stop the door from closing entirely. Fire doors are very heavy. The door closing on a hoseline may pinch it enough to stop the water flow, leaving the nozzle crew unprotected.
• When the fire is under control, shut down the sprinkler system. A firefighter equipped with a portable radio should be sent to the riser to stop the water flow. He should stand by at this location and be prepared to reinitiate sprinkler operation should the fire intensity or attack crews lose progress with the handlines.
OVERHAULING
Overhauling and salvage operations at bulk paper fires are a lengthy process. Master stream operations can be broken down into handlines. If necessary, engines can be removed from the hydrants. The hydrants then may be gated and handlines, generally 1 ¾inch, can be operated at hydrant pressure. This should provide plenty of water for extinguishing any minor flare-ups that often occur.
Mill employees usually are very willing to help with overhauling and salvage. Appreciate that help and take advantage of it —plant employees know the layout of the mill, the location of fire protection devices, and how to operate specialized equipment that will come in handy during overhaul. Roll grabs, front end loaders, and fork lifts all may be needed. But remember to work out the details with the plant manager, foreman, or whomever is in charge and do not assign plant personnel their tasks. Plant managers will know the most qualified person for the job.
Roll paper fires arc not as difficult to overhaul as bale fires: Most of the fire is extinguished during active firefighting and the fire won’t burrow into the tightly rolled paper as it does with bales. Separate burned from unburned stock, removing burned stock well away from the building to a safe location if possible; this will minimize fire spread should the rolls reignite. At least one firefighter should be stationed with a handline at the burned stock location to extinguish reignition fires.
Overhauling baled material is the most difficult. The bales must be broken and scattered to complete extinguishment. This must be done far enough away from structures or undamaged stock to prevent fire spread. Plant equipment will accomplish the moving fairly easily, but make sure that personnel know all the associated risks. The bales at this time are at their most unstable point: Burrowing fire creates collapsible voids, and prolonged water application deteriorates bottom bales such that they can’t support the upper bales. In the area where the bales are to be broken up and spread out, maintain a lVeinch hoseline as a precaution against paper reignition.
Another possible method for overhauling bale fires is to bring the bales inside the building via forklift and drop them into the beater or pulper, the original destination of the bales. Here the bales are mixed with water and chemicals to make pulp. This method is usually chosen to speed up the overhauling process; however, it should not be attempted unless a sufficient number of handlines cover the forklifts’ avenues of travel to douse any flames. The hazard here is quite obvious: You’re bringing burning or smoldering bales of paper into an undamaged building.
Make sure that experienced forklift operators are selected. Generally, the most you will have to contend with is smoldering bales, but occasional flareups will occur when the bale falls apart or is dropped. This procedure usually will take place later in the overhaul. The plant manager may call in extra personnel and make adjustments in machinery to run at full capacity. Also advise the manager that any paper run during this type of overhaul may have a smoke smell to it. Let him make the decision as to the feasibility of this type of operation and what effect it will have on his final product.
PREINCIDENT PLANNING
Building features and logistics problems at these fires can be handled well in advance of the alarm by preplanning. Your preplans should include such items as choosing water supply and checking prevailing winds and determining how they will impact fire spread. You should have a knowledge of the building’s fire protection systems and their supply connections. Have a complete layout of the mill.
Survey the entire facility and grounds and plan for a variety of possible scenarios. We once had an exterior bale storage fire that required prolonged master stream operation. After several hours someone decided to have a look at the rear area of the building. Here we found highvoltage transmission lines (the main power feed for the whole plant) and a large transformer. A pool of water had formed and was within three inches of spilling over the concrete pedestal of the transformer. Another hour of operation could have led to disaster.
Plan for moving bales and rolls of burned paper. Outside contractors may be needed to move huge amounts of paper. Keep a list of several companies that you can pass on to mill management should it be necessary. Have the mill contact these outside agencies—-the paper company will bear all associated costs from the heavy equipment usage. Generally, though, the mill will have a company on retainer that will respond at a moment’s notice.
Plan for the needs of the firefighting personnel. Paper mill fires can be quite long and involved incidents. Plan for rest periods for crews in a dry, warm place. Refreshments will be necessary. If possible, send crews back to the station for dry clothes.
Paper fires can definitely strain your body and your brain. The first minutes of the operation can and will be decisive as to the overall outcome.
Remember to call for help early— these fires get out of hand fast. Operate with safety in mind. Always consider the weight and instability of the paper. Never allow personnel to operate on top of the paper. Paper fires are volume operations, so choose a good water supply.
As with any fire in which the life hazard is minimal and occupants are accounted for, the structure and its contents are just things—and it’s hard to justify the loss of a firefighter over a pile of paper.
