• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.644-655
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• 2023

Purpose: Metal fires occur in metal handling, processing, waste storage plants, etc. It is difficult for firefighters to extinguish metal fires, and it takes a long time, so caution is needed in fire suppression. Method: In this study, current statistics and problems of metal fires were introduced, and then the effectiveness was verified by experiments with using fire extinguishing agents used in Korea. Comparative suppression experiments of 5 different fire extinguishing agents for burning powders of 99.9% magnesium over 150 ㎛ were performed following the metal powder type test method of Class D fire in ISO 7165. Result: 5 fire extinguishing agents are the power types of dry sands and expanded vermiculites most commonly used in Korea, the certified class D fire extinguisher used abroad, and ochers requiring verification, and the liquid silica gel. Conclusion: The results of experiments showed expanded vermiculites were the best metal fire extinguishing agent considering effectiveness, convenience of use, and economical feasibility.