from the Laws of Unintended Consequences... Ethanol fires

[danny burstein]

" Ethanol Fuels Fire Concerns
By CHRIS BLANK Associated Press Writer
1:55 PM EST, February 26, 2008 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.

" The nation's drive toward alternative fuels carries a danger many
communities have been to slow to recognize: Ethanol fires are
harder to put out than gasoline ones and require a special
type of firefighting foam.

" Many fire departments around the country don't have the foam,
don't have enough of it, or are not well-trained in how to
apply it, firefighting experts say. It is also more expensive than
conventional foam.

" 'It is not unusual to find a fire department that is still
just prepared to deal with traditional flammable liquids," said
Ed Plaugher, director of national programs for the International
Association of Fire Chiefs.

" The problem is that water doesn't put out ethanol fires, and
the foam that has been used since the 1960s to smother ordinary
gasoline blazes doesn't work well against the grain-alcohol fuel..."

rest:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-ethanol-fires,0,571956.story

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