In a manganese ferro-alloy production plant (400 t/J), molten slag spilled over 300 m² and a thickness of 30 cm when being poured into an open air cooling tank. The spillage reached and ignited the siding of a building housing the furnace fume purification installation. Pouring was interrupted and the public emergency services were alerted. Firefighters extinguished the fire using 3 variable flow nozzles and a deluge gun.

The spillage was caused by a sealing fault in the walls of the cooling pit consisting of slag gravel and fines. The tank resumed operation the next day at 9.30 am after consolidation and sealing of the walls. The operator reviewed the guideline defining the tank wall preparation criteria and planned the installation of a fire hose cabinet close to the cooling area, as well as the construction of a protective wall to divert a spread of molten product from the building housing the fume treatment installation.

One month earlier, an explosion had injured an operator during collection of slag in the cooling pit using a loader (ARIA 31528).