Pool Fires in Chemical Process Industries: Occurrence, Mechanism, Management

Abstract

A pool or a pile of a flammable substance catching fire—which is termed a ‘pool fire’—is among the most common of fire-related accidents. In chemical process industries (CPI) in particular, pool fires are the most frequent of all possible types of accidents. Pool fires are also, more often than not, the triggers of larger fires, explosions and/or toxic releases in CPI. As demonstrated in this paper, most of the catastrophic accidents that have occurred in CPI have begun with a pool fire, which has then led to other fires and/or explosions, compounding the initial accident many times over. In day-to-day life also, as also in forest fires, major fire accidents begin with a small pool fire. Due to these reasons an understanding of factors which influence pool fires, and the associated mechanisms, is essential for devising strategies to control and mitigate pool fires. This review, which is specific to pool fires occurring in CPI, recounts illustrative case studies of some major pool fire accidents, performs a past accident analysis and describes pool fire mechanism, modeling and control.