Gaseous Hydrogen Fires

Best practices for dealing with a gaseous hydrogen fire include:

• Do not extinguish the fire until the hydrogen supply has been shut off, as unburned gaseous hydrogen can result in an explosion. Spray water on adjacent equipment to cool it.
• Do not try to put out a hydrogen cylinder fire unless the cylinder is out in the open or in a well-ventilated area free of combustibles and ignition sources.
• Do not attempt to remove a burning cylinder. Keep it and surrounding cylinders cool by spraying with water.
• If multiple cylinders are burning, fight the fire from as great a distance as possible to protect against the possibility of flying debris.

References

G-095A-2017, ANSI/AIAA Guide to Safety of Hydrogen and Hydrogen Systems, can be purchased from www.aiaa.org.

Air Products Safetygram for Gaseous Hydrogen (pdf, 161 kb)