Industries that commonly work with metals and metal substances understand that some can be extremely flammable. Certain metals can combust on contact with air or water. Construction, mining and other industries that come in contact with metals in their raw state must be vigilant in their efforts to protect their employees and equipment from fire. While large blocks of metal need extreme heat to burn, metal shavings can easily catch fire and then spread to other flammable materials or liquids that may be nearby.
A serious problem in attempting to fight these fires is that they cannot be extinguished with water or other common types of fire extinguishers. Met-L-X™ Extinguishers are specifically designed for use on flammable metals. There are a number of these units designed for specific metals including:
- MET-L-X™: Magnesium
- MET-L-KYL™: Triethylaluminum
- LITH-X™: Zirconium, Titanium, Sodium-Potassium
- NA-X™: Sodium, Potassium, Sodium-Potassium Alloy
Met-L-X™ can be discharged through hose lines and is available in hand portable, wheeled, stationary, and piped system extinguishers ranging from 30 to 2000 pounds making them suitable for a variety of industrial applications.
Lith-X™ extinguishers contain a graphite-based dry powder used on lithium fires. Lithium has become more common as it is used for different battery applications in many new technologies. LITH-X™ agent is also effective on fires involving high melting point metals such as zirconium, titanium and sodium potassium.
For more information about Met-L-X™ and Lith-X™ applications, please download this white paper from Ansul.