North Canton, Ohio

The operator was operating a pot carrier when a break out in the pot occurred, releasing molten slag against the operator cabin and externally all along the front of the vehicle, in milliseconds the vehicle was engulfed in flames and fire. The Operator set off the liquid [Firebane™] Vehicle Suppression Systems and extinguished the fire both inside the cab and externally on the carrier. The operator gave a video interview where he credited the GSL Systems with saving his life from a situation that both he and the Plant Manager deemed would have otherwise been a fatality situation.

East Chicago, Indiana

While moving molten slag around an outdoor pit area, a wheeled loader set a bucket of molten material into an area in which water had pooled. An ‘explosion’ resulted in an overpressure wave which forced the ballistic windshield glass panel from the frame of a second loader vehicle which was operating nearby. The glass panel pinned the vehicle operator into the seat. Molten slag splatter entered the open window area striking the operator on his forearms. The operator activated the liquid [Firebane™] In-Cab System, which immediately reduced the heat levels inside the cabin, cooled the splattered material and provided further protection from burns to the operator. The operator sustained injury in the form of a number of small burns along the front of both forearms but otherwise escaped without injury. Following treatment at a local emergency room, the operator immediately returned to work. The Safety Manager deemed that without the GSL fire suppression system, the operator would not have survived.

Cofield, North Carolina

An Operator was operating a pot carrier when the onboard pot overflowed engulfing the carrier in flames. He immediately activated all [Firebane™] system components and exited the vehicle, suffering only minor burns to his hands. It was reported by the Maintenance Supervisor that the molten slag had run under and around the carrier and for approximately 20 yards in every direction creating a firewall. Two water trucks and a fire truck also arrived to fight the fire. Personnel used GSL handheld extinguishers with liquid Firebane™ to extinguish the fire in the engine compartment of the carrier. It was reported that the fire burned so hot that the sight glasses for the hydraulic and differential fluid levels both melted. The Plant Manager deemed that the operator would have been trapped and engulfed with flames without the [GSL] Fire Suppression Systems.

Blytheville, Arkansas

A newly trained pot carrier operator, with a full pot of molten material onboard, approached the edge of the dump area. The operator lost control, missing the vehicle’s alignment with the stop bumpers, at which time the vehicle careened over the cliff edge down into the pit area below, a fall of approximately ten feet. The pot emptied around the vehicle at which time the vehicle burst into flames. The operator reacted as trained and activated the fire suppression [Firebane™] system components as instructed. Having donned the Escape Hood, activating all of the GSL systems, the operator climbed onto the catwalk area, protected by the non-toxic discharge from the Escape Unit.

A fellow employee, operating a large wheeled loader, ran the loader into the molten slag which was being rendered cool by the Firebane™ raised the bucket allowing the carrier operator to jump into the bucket, effecting rescue. It was noted that the wheeled loader had been digging molten material for a number of hours prior to this accident, and that the bucket had been super-heated. The rescued operator, only wetted with the Firebane™ liquid, (and was bare-handed, as he was not wearing gloves) was not burned from contact with the bucket surface. The carrier operator escaped unharmed. The Safety Manager deemed that without the GSL Systems, the operator would not have survived.

Mansfield, Ohio

An operator of a wheeled loader was digging molten slag at an outdoor dump site at which time the operator inadvertently set a large quantity of molten material onto the ground, not aware that the piled snow was deeper than he had assumed. An explosion occurred, forcing the ballistic glass windshield panel and molten material into the operator cabin in the area of the operator. The operator quickly activated the [GSL] In-Cab System, which extinguished the resulting cabin interior fire, cooled the molten material, and provided protection for the operator. The operator was unhurt.