「不明火焰」竄燒如外星景象美消防隊撲滅

2017年07月15日 | 萬象

【記者陳俊村／報導】

沃蘭（Worland）是美國懷俄明州的一座城市。當地一處公路旁日前出現一片看似藍色和銀白色的「不明火焰」，消防隊據報後已前往處理。原來這是具有危險性的硫化物燃燒，看起來像外星產物，與一般的橘紅色火焰不同。

7月7日晚間，沃蘭消防局接獲失火通報，不知什麼東西起火燃燒。消防人員在前往現場調查時發現，這種具有詭異樣貌的火焰是硫化物引燃的，已將其撲滅。

該局在臉書上分享了這些硫化物燃燒的影片，才幾天的時間，迄今觀看人次已經超過280萬。

Sulfur Fire - Washakie County, Worland, WY
07/07/2017 WFD was called to Smet Recycling on HWY 20 North for a report of an unknown type of fire. Upon arrival we found that the fire was a sulfur mound that had been ignited. Despite the beautiful flames, burning sulfur creates a hazardous gas called sulfur dioxide. WFD was able to position apparatus in a safe location and lay in a line to extinguish the fire. We captured the video, while in full PPE and wearing SCBA's during a size up of the situation, as crews were setting up for suppression. ** Update / Response to comments and questions: Burning sulfur creates sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas that has a very strong, choking odor. The fire was burning in a “bowl” shaped area, allowing all runoff to be collected in the fire area. A minimal amount of water was used to cool the surface of the sulfur and reduce the temperature below the molten stage. Adding water to an SO2 gas creates sulfurous acid, (not to be confused with sulfuric acid) which can be related to “acid rain”. Apparatus and personnel placement as well as careful monitoring of the weather conditions in relation to smoke and chemical plume is very important. The deposits in rural Washakie County are leftover from the Texas Gulf Sulfur Plant that operated north of Worland in the 1950’s. Much of the sulfur is mixed heavily with soil and is not 100% sulfur concentrate. This is a type of fire that is not common but needs to be addressed and dealt with safely and quickly. Fortunately the WFD has Hazmat Technicians and we have an understanding of this as we deal with H2S and SO2 on a somewhat regular basis. Link to video on YouTube, feel free to use for awareness and training in your departments! https://youtu.be/yjtunKxS_PU
由 Worland Fire Protection District #1 & Worland Volunteer Fire Department 貼上了 2017年7月8日

該局在臉書上寫道，儘管這些火焰看起來很美麗，但硫化物燃燒會產生危險的二氧化硫氣體。該局已透過專業設備將火焰撲滅。

這起事故係因一輛停在路邊的機車排出熱氣，點燃了這堆含有硫的土壤。此地在1950年代是一間生產硫化物的工廠，故有很多硫混合在土壤中，雖然土壤裡不是百分之百都是硫，但仍然很容易引燃。

沃蘭消防局解釋說，硫燃燒會產生非常刺鼻的二氧化硫味道，而且有窒息危險。當二氧化硫遇到水就會形成亞硫酸，這就是人們所說的酸雨。在處理煙霧和化學物質時，人員和設備就定位，以及對天候的謹慎監控，都是非常重要的。

該局還表示，這種火焰並不常見，但需要注意，而且要安全和迅速地處理。該局歡迎人們使用其影片，以喚起人們對此議題的關注，或作為各單位的教育訓練之用。