SULFUR FIRES: PREVENTION BEFORE SUPPRESSION

A sulfur fire announces itself quietly: a low blue flame you can miss in daylight and sulfur dioxide gas you cannot. The whole discipline is arranged so you never see either one.

Prevention is housekeeping. Suspended sulfur dust can ignite, so transfer points get enclosed, floors get swept, equipment gets bonded and grounded, and hot work near storage happens by permit or not at all. No dust cloud, no dust fire.

Response is about the right water. Fog and steam knock a sulfur fire down; a straight stream scatters burning product and raises the dust you were preventing. Anyone working the fire wears air, because the combustion gas is the hazard that reaches farthest.

Every family plant drills the sequence and posts the numbers. If it ever matters, CHEMTREC is 1-800-424-9300 and the plant lines are on the safety page.