Gas fire forces area evacuation

By Dan Hilborn
Published Aug. 11, 2004


A major highway was closed and a large industrial area in South Burnaby was evacuated on Friday night when a hydrogen gas fire was ignited at the Ballard Power Systems headquarters and fuel cell plant.

And while the actual fire was extinguished about eight hours after the incident started, the back nine holes of the nearby Riverway golf course were kept closed for almost the entire day Saturday as a safety precaution.

"Thankfully, no one was seriously injured and the safety precautions and training with our staff paid off," said Stephen Kukucha, director of external affairs for one of the best known high-tech companies in Burnaby. "There was no serious damage to the building and no serious damage overall."

The incident started just after 9 p.m. Friday when a truck from Praxair in California arrived at the Ballard plant on North Fraser Way to deliver its weekly load of the hydrogen gas.

Burnaby fire chief John Stewart said the tanker truck with the capacity to carry 1.5 million cubic feet of hydrogen had previously offloaded a portion of its load when the incident occurred.

While the exact cause of the blaze is now being investigated by Transport Canada and other agencies, it is believed the fire involved residual hydrogen gas in the receiving tank and some kind of electrical spark around the connecting pipe.

Kukucha said the driver had parked the truck and was in the process of preparing to transfer the gas when the incident occurred.

"He opened a valve, at which point some hydrogen ignited, causing a fire. We're still investigating the details and specifics of how it ignited and got in the valve," Kukucha said.

The driver sustained first-degree burns to his face and neck, and was the only person injured in the incident.

While Stewart had high praise for the way his crews responded to the potentially dangerous situation, he also confirmed that the incident had the potential to be far more serious than what happened.

"Hydrogen is explosive," said Stewart. "At this time we still don't know how much of the product was in the vehicle, but if it was fully loaded, it could make a big boom.

"However, this tank was not under pressure, and so we were comfortable we could manage the situation."

Another factor that helped ease the situation was the time of day. While the fire was initially reported around 9 p.m., traffic on nearby Marine Way was already beginning to dwindle when the road closure was ordered around 11 p.m.

Stewart said his crews contacted experts from Canutech, a Canadian-based hazardous material information centre and the U.S supplier of the gas, for detailed safety information on the best way to respond to the incident.

And the fire chief had high praise for the way his crews responded to the situation.

"I think our guys did an outstanding job," Stewart said. "They erred on the side of safety and did an outstanding job by not rushing it and by taking their time."

The fire chief also said the public should be aware that Ballard is only one of many high-tech companies that handles dangerous products in the city.

"We have lots of product going through this city every day. Many facilities have many chemicals. We are a hub and we have potential."

Stewart said that the truck in question has since been moved to a secure facility in Delta where officials from Transport Canada are reviewing the physical evidence for clues to what happened.

Kukucha also said that public safety officials responded appropriately to the incident.

"The situation was managed, in control and appropriately handled by all involved," Kukucha said.

He also said the public should not be overly concerned about the large size of the evacuation area or the length of time it took to reopen the golf course.

"The fire department made a call based on their priorities and precautions or procedures to conservatively handle the situation and ensure that they secured a perimeter around the site based on what they perceived the threat level to be," Kukucha said. "They acted conservatively and appropriately in this case."

And the Ballard official expressed confidence in the safety of hydrogen gas as an alternative to gasoline or other fuels.

"Hydrogen is considered safer than most other fuels because it has a number of unique qualities," he said. "Typically, it dissipates quickly because it's lighter than air, and it burns with a clean flame."

According to the material safety data sheet (MSDS) on hydrogen, evacuation orders are recommended around hydrogen fires due to the risk of an explosion if the flames are extinguished and then accidentally reignited.