Hydrogen Fire at a Gas Production Facility
A leak occurred while loading a semi-trailer carrying hydrogen gas cylinders. An employee closed the supply valve but the leak ignited and reached the trailer's tires. The vehicle caught fire, causing a plume of black smoke visible from a distance. The plant operator evacuated the personnel and activated the emergency response plan. The water sprayers in the filling station and the site was shut down. The firemen and the operator prevented the spread of the fire beyond the 3 semi-trailers parked at the loading station. After approximately 2 hours, the firemen brought the fire under control. Early in the morning of the after (after approximately 10 hours from fire extinction), the fire broke out again on the tires of a semi-trailer. The firefighters used twice the firefighting flow of the first phase. After 5 hours , the firefighters finished extinguishing the semi-trailer. They checked that there were no hot spots using a thermal camera. The operator called off the emergency plan. The plant operator activated a post-accident crisis unit to study how to empty the trailers from the remaining hydrogen and to purge them. (ARIA database)
Event Date
July 30, 2020
Record Quality Indicator
Region / Country
Event Initiating System
Classification of the Physical Effects
Nature of the Consequences
Causes
Cause Comments
Several potential sources of hydrogen leakage were identified at the level of the semi-trailer: either on a connection loop between a cylinder and a manifold, or on the manifold, or on a cylinder
Facility Information
Application Type
Application
Specific Application Supply Chain Stage
Components Involved
semi-trailer, hydrogen cylinders
Storage/Process Medium
Location Type
Location description
Industrial Area
Number of Fatalities
1
Currency
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
Pending the outcome of the investigation, the plant operator has removed from the company's fleet a batch of semi-trailers of the same model as the one involved.
Event Nature
Emergency Action
During the first fire, the fire brigade used water. During the fighting of the second fire, it used first twice the firefighting flow of the first phase. The extinguishing water was collected in a retention basin designed for this purpose, but it reached its maximum filling level.Later one, to limit the amount of water, the firemen use foam. To reduce the level of water in the basin, the operator opens its water discharge to the environment at a low rate. Firefighters set up a filtering system for the hydrocarbons. The water from the basin is then returned to the fire reserve. Finally, a thermal camera was used to ensure that there were no hot spots left.
Release Type
Release Substance
Hydrogen Release Concentration (%)
100.00
Ignition Source
Detonation
No
Deflagration
No
High Pressure Explosion
No
High Voltage Explosion
No
Source Category
References
References
Event description no 55834 in the French database ARIA (accessed October 2021)
News of 30 July of the La Voix du Nord
https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/845839/article/2020-07-30/douai-incendie-en…
(accessed November 2021)