Fire as a Weapon II

Back in April I wrote a brief piece about how a fire can be used as a technique to detonate a pressure tank. It was a general theoretical description of what could happen. Last week over on Risk-Safety.com Dr. Saraf went one better; in addition to a brief written explanation he provided a link to a You-Tube video of a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). While I have seen a number such videos over the years, this one also provides a good technical explanation of what is going on. Anyone that has a requirement to provide chemical facility security against terrorist attacks on flammable gasses or flammable liquids in pressure vessels needs to take a good hard look at this video. Prevention of fire impingement on the pressure tank is just as important as protecting against an IED being hand-placed at the tank or a VBIED placed nearby. Fortunately, the defense is relatively simple to effect. Automated water systems with large amounts of water to keep the upper portion of the tanks cool enough not to deform and a well designed pressure relief device system target at fire impingement.