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Re: Exploding aerosol cans spreading fires
Posted by:
Gerald Hurst (IP Logged)
Date: December 22, 2006 10:49AM
I generally agree with what you have written.
It appears to me that the factory mutual test results support the proposition that aerosol cans are capable of producing fires which could be misinterpreted as multiple origins. The following paragraph is quoted from an FM summary of their research:
"FM Global Research conducted large scale tests on all levels of flammable products. Level 2 flammable aerosols produced intense fires, and ruptured cans were propelled throughout the test site. Sprinklers confined the fire to the aerosol storage with no sustained fire propagation to the target storage arrays. Some of the rocketing cans actually trailed burning liquid, and burning packaging material or plastic caps also were occasionally propelled beyond the test array. Product sprayed from the cans and occasionally splashed onto the
target arrays, but it was quickly diluted and extinguished by the sprinkler discharge."
Note that when they write that there was "no sustained fire propagation to the target storage arrays," they are referring to the fact that the sprinkler system was able to extinguish the remote fires.