At around 4:40 p.m., a skip filled with aluminium-lithium chips caught fire at a metal parts plant. The operator notified the firefighters and the plant’s employees were evacuated. The skip was moved away from the plant’s facilities and to protect it from rain. The firefighters extinguished the fire by pouring bags of cement into it.

As metal swarf and powder are flammable, the operator said that the fire could have been caused by multiple ignition sources:

• a hot spot created from nearby work, although the operator was not aware of any such work being performed near the skip on the day of the accident;
• a cigarette butt that had been thrown into the skip by an employee or contractor;
• a spark or reaction that was triggered when metal debris other than that initially in the skip was added an hour before the smoke was spotted. This debris (fine swarf and dust) was produced by a cutting contractor and was collected by the operator. It is different from the metal waste produced by the operator’s facility, particularly in terms of size.

After the accident, the operator posted ‘No Smoking’ and ‘Hot Work Prohibited’ signs around the skip. It plans to ask its contractor to set up a separate system for disposing of its swarf so that it no longer has to do it. It is also looking into the appropriateness and feasibility of installing an automatic fire detection and suppression system.