Idaho firefighters learn from oil fire close call

Firefighters could have been killed, Fire Marshal Ken Anderson said, after they first used water while trying to extinguish a June 9 oil fire

June 22, 2011 05:33 AM

By Rachel Cook
The Idaho Falls Post Register

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Idaho Falls Fire Marshal Ken Anderson said there are lessons to be learned from a close call earlier this month.

Firefighters could have been killed, Anderson said, after they first used water while trying to extinguish a June 9 oil fire at Intermountain Natural, 1740 S. Yellowstone Ave.

He said firefighters were unaware of a large fryer on fire in the commercial building.

Looking back, Anderson said a “lack of communication, lack of education” caused the near miss.

“There was a change (in the building) between the inspection that we did last time and what we saw in the fire,” Anderson said. "(The change) didn’t get reviewed properly and (the employees) weren’t aware that it had to be reviewed.”

While the fire marshal’s office had inspected the building where jerky is made about a year ago, the fryer had been moved to a different building, which Anderson said requires an electrical and mechanical permit and a proper hood to suppress potential fires.

“The hood was just a little bit too small,” Anderson said.

Intermountain Natural representatives declined to comment. A fire department news release estimated damage from the blaze at $350,000. Anderson said the building did not have a fire suppression system.

“That’s been corrected,” he said. “I think we’re on the road to recovery on that one.”

To prevent a similar scare, Anderson recommended the fire department purchase K Class fire extinguishers for each truck. The small extinguishers contain a green liquid that looks like shaving cream when it heats up. The foam creates a seal on a fire that stops oxygen from reaching the flames.

Anderson said restaurants have the extinguishers and there was one on scene at the June 9 fire but crews could not reach it. They used foam similar to K Class extinguishers to put out the fire, but “not all foams work on all fires,” Anderson said.

“When we run into that special fire we need to bring our equipment up to speed,” he said.

The extinguishers would cost about $1,000 total, Anderson estimated.

Making sure firefighters are familiar with potential hazards and that business owners understand regulations also could improve safety, Anderson said,

“I’m going to recommend that we get our trucks out to the hazard areas,” he said. “Sometimes, we miss one of these like this, where we don’t know that change occurred.”