Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services Operational Guidelines
FUEL SPILLS/FIRES
OG# 3.9.4
Date of Last Revision: July 11, 2012
Purpose: To facilitate a consistent, safe and effective response to fuel spills and fires.
Scope: All Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services personnel
Policy: Recognizing that fuel spills and fires create unique hazards related to fire extinguishment, safety,
and spill remediation, CF&ES personnel will utilize the following procedures as a general guideline. Due
to the volatile nature of fuel spills and fires alternative actions may be necessary and required.
Procedure:
General
 Contact the Ministry of Environment and advise them of incidents with spills greater than 100
liters (22 gallons). 1-800-663-3456.
 Utilize Canutec, Webwiser and other resources to identify hot, warm, cold zone distances and
specialized product information.
 Large quantity spill clean up is the responsibility of the supplier or shipper and they must be
contacted for remediation.
 Fire department expenses may be charged back to the supplier or shipper, the Ministry of
Environment may be of assistance with this.
 Notify the Director of Fire & Emergency Services or Deputy Director.
 Request RCMP to conduct evacuations and maintain safety zones, if required.
 Contact EHS and have them stand by for rehab and possible injuries, if required.
 A hot zone should be established and marked through the use of fire line tape.
 Apparatus should be spotted well back from the incident, up wind and uphill and placed in a
position that will provide protection to responders in the event of an explosion or fire.
 All personnel working in the hot zone must wear full protective clothing including SCBA with
face piece on.
Note: Non-polar – gasoline, jet fuels, diesel fuels and crude oil
Polar – methanol, acetone, racing fuels
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FUEL SPILLS/FIRES continued…
Extinguishment
 Utilize AFFF/class B, alcohol resistant foam (CF&ES class B foam) on flammable liquid spills,
including ethanol or ethanol based fuels.
 The class B foam should be applied at the percentages specified by the foam concentrate
manufacturer. (Fire Aid 2000 should be proportioned at 3% for non-polar fires and 6%
concentrate for polar solvent or Class D and K fires).
 Fires involving a large area of burning flammable liquids may exceed the ability of one hand line
to extinguish.
 IC may wait until there is enough class B foam on site to initiate a coordinated attack.
 One 95 GPM class B foam line is needed for every 600 square feet of spill area.
 Water master streams should be used to cool and protect exposures during the interim.
 Consider the affect runoff will have on spreading the fuel and contact request resources such as
City gravel and vacuum trucks early on.
Spills
 The spill must be isolated to prevent ignition until it can be disposed of or recovered.
 Fire fighters working around spills must wear full PPE and SCBA in case of possible ignition.
 Monitor for flammable vapor with atmosphere monitors.
 Prevent flammable liquid run-off into storm drains, sewers, or drainage systems, if safe to do so.
 Control sources of ignition in the area of the spill.
 Disconnect electrical power from a remote location to prevent arc-caused ignition.
 Cover spills with class B foam to seal vapors. (Fire Aid 2000 should be proportioned at 3% for
non-polar spills and 6% concentrate for polar spills).
 Reapply foam every l0 to 15 minutes.
 One 95 GPM class B foam line is needed for every 600 square feet of spill area.
 Monitor the spill area for escaping vapors spill area with atmosphere monitors.
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FUEL SPILLS/FIRES continued…
Disposal
 May require a fuel transfer pump or vacuum truck and industry personnel with specialized skills.
 Smaller spills may be absorbed.
 IC may consider using sand delivered by the City Works Department.
 Larger spills will require a street sweeper or a licensed clean-up contractor to remove the sand.
Note: The departments portable radios and ventilation equipment is not intrinsically safe and can
produce a spark, becoming a potential ignition point for an explosion. In explosive environments do not
utilize this equipment.
Reference:
 http://www.phoenix.gov/fire/20404.pdf , retrieved December 2009. Phoenix Fire Department,
Flammable liquid Incident.
 http://fireade.com/applications/FireAde2000 retrieved April 23, 2012, Fire Aid 2000
Applications
Also OG:
 Incident Safety, 2.4.1
 Personnel Risk, 2.4.5
 Hazardous Materials - General, 3.9.1
X
W a yn e Price
D ire cto r o f F ire & E m e rg e n cy S e rvice
This OG replaces:
Implementation Date: July 11, 2012
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