Ethanol Fuel Blends Safety Training for All First Responders and Interested Public—Be Prepared in a Changed World

September 03, 2020

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by Joanne Ivancic* (Advanced Biofuels USA) 1) We are no longer living in an all-hydrocarbon fuel world. 2) If there’s water involved, the ethanol stays with the water. 3) AR-AFFF is the only firefighting foam that can successfully extinguish an ethanol fire or suppress flammable vapors. 4) When firefighters are monitoring for flammable vapors at an incident site they use multi-gas detecting equipment capable of reading both hydrocarbons and ethanol vapors. 5) Laminate! These are five key points made by Joel Hendelman in the TRANSCAER/Renewable Fuels Association ethanol safety training that more succinctly would be summarized in just two words, “be prepared.”

With some attention to social distancing and wearing masks when away from the training room, day-long in-person training was offered three times in Maryland this week at the Frederick County Public Safety Training Center.

Designed for hazmat technician/specialists, first responders, individuals who will respond to ethanol-related emergencies, those who work at fixed-facilities and transport fuel the course is also open to anyone interested to learn more about the topic.

The presentation included a mix of basic introductory information about ethanol and ethanol-blended fuels along with more advanced training on challenges and techniques for fighting fires involving ethanol blend fuels.

The materials are available at no cost for self-directed learning and include teachers’ manuals.

That said, there’s substantial value in having in-person training with an instructor who not only brings decades of experience, but who can help put the information into the specific context of each attendee’s situation and respond to ideas and questions from a deep well of knowledge partly gleaned from conducting trainings around the country, sharing experiences and best practices from other participants. Hendelman fits this description. As National Contracted Instructor for the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and TRANSCAER, a co-supporter/sponsor of this national program along with other grant funding streams, he has been bringing this training to all corners of the US since 2014.

We are no longer living in an all-hydrocarbon fuel world.

Over 16 billion gallons of ethanol is transported across our country by railroad tank cars, highway cargo tank trucks, freighter ships/ barges and pipeline each year. Ethanol blended fuels are some of the top hazardous materials shipped by rail today. No matter where you live in the US, ethanol fuels are part of your life. It’s hard to find a gas station that sells anything less than a 10% ethanol/gasoline blend (E10); many have E15 or E85.

And since little ethanol sees the inside of a pipeline, any fire department along those ways should be prepared for a potential accident. Their roads, rails and waterways carry both the denatured fuel ethanol (composed of 95-98% ethanol with 2% - 5% gasoline to make it undrinkable) on the way to transfer terminals for blending as well as the blended fuels on their way to local filling stations. They should identify likely geographical locations of problems based on past 30-40 years of historical experiences along with identifying new and developing situations, such as new gas stations, traffic patterns and industrial or agricultural considerations.

Part of mutual assistance agreements might include sharing of information about pre-planning with all whom may be called on for help.

If there’s water involved, the ethanol stays with the water.

Any bartender will tell you that ethanol and water have great affinity for each other. It’s why cocktails mix so well. And, chefs who know how to flambé food such as bananas foster or cherries jubilee, add ethanol to a hot pan to create a burst of flames.

Great stuff. It makes clear that these two properties require special attention when fighting an ethanol blend fuel fire. First responders need to know what to do to extinguish the fire and to protect life and property.

AR-AFFF is the only firefighting foam that can successfully extinguish an ethanol fire.

Firefighting foams developed for fighting all-hydrocarbon fuel fires work by a small percent (3%) of foam concentrate getting mixed with water (97%) going through the firefighting hoselines and specialized foam nozzles. With ethanol fuels, the hydrocarbon part of the fire may be extinguished, but the water in the foam joins with the ethanol and unless the water is 500% more than the amount of ethanol, the mixture will continue to burn.

Ethanol is a very clean-burning fuel. Lack of smoke and a faint flame makes it difficult for firefighters to see. So, special foam (AR-AFFF) has been developed that creates a gelatinous polymeric membrane barrier between the ethanol and the water-based foam that extinguishes the fire and/or suppresses the vapors. It is also works to extinguish other hydrocarbon fires.

When firefighters are monitoring for flammable vapors at an incident site they use multi-gas detecting equipment capable of reading both hydrocarbons and ethanol vapors.

Firefighters and hazardous materials specialists use special instruments to monitor fires for toxic chemicals or the release of flammable vapors. They are triggered by both ethanol and the hydrocarbon and the use of mathematical conversion factors to specifically identify if the ethanol or hydrocarbon vapors present are within their explosive range. Because of the chemical properties of ethanol, decisions made regarding how best to fight a particular ethanol blended fuel fire might be determined by its actual presence.

Laminate!

Laminate is just one aspect of the overall necessity to “be prepared.” Tools such as a tactical worksheet are used as part of the process to determine if foam should be used at this incident and a reminder card about various (and inconsistent) coding systems that identify hazardous materials were suggested best mitigation practices can then be applied.

Collaborate

If there was one other key point Hendelman made, it was the importance of collaboration, certainly as part of any mutual assistance agreements with other jurisdictions; but also as a way to secure accessible resources such as foam concentrate, firefighting equipment, accessible storage, support for training, etc.

Highly Relevant

Frederick County, as home of Fort Detrick, including the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases with its intensive work on infectious diseases and bioweapons, may see itself as more vulnerable to many other potential disasters than ethanol fuel fires. But these sessions make clear to all attendees that ethanol fuel blends are everywhere.

So, in addition to these unique circumstances, with a main rail line and major highways going through Frederick City and County, and with agricultural use and storage of fuels in the area, it behooves all area fire departments to “be prepared” for any kind of chemical fire incident, including those with ethanol blended fuels. Attending the sessions pictured were representatives from Fort Detrick, Frederick City and Frederick County fire houses as well as from Montgomery County.

The same holds true for any other fire safety department anywhere. These sessions provide a clear way to understand these new chemicals, changing fuels in a changed world.

*Joanne Ivancic serves as executive director of Advanced Biofuels USA. (Photos by JIvancic unless otherwise noted; screen shots from RFA/TRANSCAER materials)