Fire Dangers With Magnesium Is a Heavy

Fire Dangers With Magnesium

Magnesium is a heavy element which can become a danger when ignited. The fires that result from magnesium burning are hot and bright, but also dangerous because they cannot be extinguished by traditional methods. Putting water on a magnesium fire is dangerous because it will only reignite the fire and make it burn more. This is the case even days after the fire may have been extinguished, making it crucial to understand the hazards of dealing with a magnesium fire before trying to extinguish it using traditional methods.

When relatively small amounts of magnesium burn, fires are extinguished using commercially available dry power. Water cannot be used in the extinguishing of magnesium fires. When water is used, it produces hydrogen gas and the oxygen escaping only makes the magnesium fire burn more. When water is used on a magnesium fire, it can turn it into a very dangerous and flammable hydrogen gas (Web Elements, 2012). This can produce a very dangerous chemical reaction. Moreover, magnesium reacts with carbon dioxide in a way that only intensifies the fire as well. Thus, typical fire extinguishers that use carbon dioxide as a base cannot be used to extinguish the fire either. Based on this, it is crucial to use a dry powder substance to extinguish a magnesium fire. Thus, it is important to use the most appropriate extinguisher that has a dry powder as its main element. As such, a Class D dry fire extinguisher is needed to safely put out magnesium fires. Additionally, dry sand can be used to try to extinguish magnesium fires as well.

Even days later, using water on an extinguished magnesium fire can be dangerous. If someone tries to remove the residue with water, even after a few days of the original fire being put out, it can have the danger o reigniting. Essentially, the fire that burns off of magnesium is incredibly hot. The chemicals that were active in the fire days earlier are still active and dangerous. Throwing water on them would only ignite the fire again, because the hot magnesium would continue to turn water into a flammable gas that would endanger lighting the fire over again. According to the research, "experienced fire officials know that certain types of materials are more difficult to fully extinguish and are susceptible to rekindling" (Brouwer, 2010). As such, it is crucial for only experienced firefighters to deal with the extinguishing of magnesium fires. Experienced professionals need to also be a part of the clean up of such chemical fires as well. This will best ensure that a magnesium fire is not rekindled because of a misunderstanding of its chemical properties.