Abstract
On May 4, 1988, a fire occurred in a large ammonium perchlorate (AP) plant located in Henderson, Nevada. The fire quickly spread through most of the facility by means of thermal radiation, fire brands, a continuous (linear) source of fuel and some natural self-propelled missiles. Two large explosions occurred during the fire, each on the order of a few hundred tons energy equivalent of TNT, claiming two lives, injuring 372 people, and damaging plant buildings as well as those in nearby residential areas.
During the early stages of the plant fire, a television tower maintenance crew atop a nearby mountain noticed the event and recorded most of it on videotape. The video record is unusual, spectacular, and a rare opportunity in fire/explosion investigation. It shows details of the rapid plant fire spread sequence, much of which occurred too quickly to be accurately recorded by any other means.
The videotape permitted advanced investigative fire reconstruction techniques, such as super imposing CAD outlines of the plant on the video records, using the same perspective. Various other engineering analyses were conducted for the effort as well. Timeline analyses (from witness and other accounts) aided in determining the complex sequence of events leading up to ignition, as well as the sequence of flame spread. Thermal radiation heat transfer calculations aided in determination and confirmation of flame spread theories. Explosion dynamics estimates aided in determining the locations of the initial small explosions and estimating the amount of product involved in the large explosions.
Possible causes of the accident are listed, though the official cause is still undetermined. Conclusions are listed regarding major factors involved in the ignition and extreme rate of fire spread.
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