For many HAZMAT students, learning that a HAZMAT shipped as a Non-Flammable Class 2 HAZMAT can actually ignite is a sobering fact of emergency response. But when they find out this HAZMAT is anhydrous ammonia (NH3) there is a level of disbelief. But it was this week 30 years ago (9/17/84) at approximately 4:00 p.m., when an explosion occurred in a cold storage warehouse building near Shreveport, Louisiana. The explosion occurred while two members of the Shreveport Fire Department’s Hazardous Material Unit were attempting to isolate an anhydrous ammonia leak in a section of the building’s refrigeration system.
This is the ONLY recorded fatality in a Level A ensemble caused by the hazardous atmosphere and that atmosphere was >160,000 ppm of NH3 (i.e. 16% – which is the LEL of NH3). The National Fire Protection Association did a full investigation into this fatal accident and as I posted in 2012, the report is quite telling (CLICK HERE for the 2012 Article and NFPA Report). Based on my experiences of teaching dozens of emergency response courses each year I can say that even still today, there is a dangerous level of ignorance around the flammable properties of NH3.
In the Shreveport accident, the force of the explosion raised the building’s roof/ceiling assembly in the immediate area of the leak approximately one foot and severely damaged interior wall assemblies. The initial explosion also resulted in a severe fire from the ignition of ordinary combustibles in the adjacent areas of the building. The two fire fighters within the room of origin were severely burned when their protective clothing became ignited. One fire fighter died within 36 hours of the explosion; the other fire fighter was admitted to a hospital in critical condition.
PLEASE take a few minutes on this anniversary of a true tragedy to remember the fallen firefighters and to EDUCATE others on this hazard of anhydrous ammonia.