Method of fighting oil fires with sand and sandblasting

The application of sand combined with sandblasting extinguishes oil and gas fires by cutting off oxygen, cooling the area and stopping the fuel supply. Sand mixed with soda ash converts to glass to smother high temperature fires. Sandblasting controls flames while a fire is smothered by mounding with sand.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a method of extinguishing fires from oil and gas 
wells and storage and refinery facilities. In particular, the invention 
employs sand as at least one natural material for extinguishing such 
fires. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Oil and gas fires, especially where the oil and/or gas are under pressure, 
are difficult to extinguish and involve great risk to the persons who must 
use explosives in the process. Even when large quantities of water are 
sprayed to cool the fire, there are considerable risks involved. 
Even when, for example, an explosive charge can extinguish the flames by 
cutting off the supply of oxygen, the metal pipes and surrounding areas 
are so hot that the fire can restart if the well cannot be capped quickly 
enough after the blast from the explosion to extinguish the flames. Also, 
the blast must be of sufficient force to provide an adequate shock wave, 
but not be so destructive as to prevent the well from being capped. 
While cooling water is readily available for oil fires on offshore rigs, 
there has been a continuing problem of fighting fires in desert regions 
where tracked vehicles and helicopters are required to even reach the site 
and water is unavailable. 
Summary of the Invention 
It is an object of the invention to provide a means of extinguishing oil 
and gas fires using sand as the means for 
(1) cutting of the supply of oxygen to the fire 
(2) lowering the temperature below the ignition point, and 
(3) shutting off the supply of gas and/or oil. 
The process employs contacting a burning oil and/or gas fire with sand in 
an amount and with a pressure sufficient to interrupt combustion. Sand may 
be applied to the fire by a variety of means alone or in combination, 
including dropping from a helicopter or bulldozing, spraying or 
sandblasting or use of a crane. Sand may be used as the sole material 
applied or the sand may be mixed with water or other firefighting 
materials. 
In a special case, the sand can be mixed with soda ash to allow the heat of 
combustion at the well head to convert this mixture to glass and seal the 
well without requiring close approach to the fire site. In this case, a 
glass producing composition could be applied using sand blasting in order 
to provide a positive pressure to supress the flame and oil and/or gas 
pressure as well as to absorb heat from the pipes and surroundings. 
Detailed Description of the Invention 
Sand is a readily available and easy to use fire extinguishing material 
which would not need to be transported to locations where an urgent need 
exists to employ this technique. While this technique has been known to be 
the only practical means for dealing with incendiary bombs dropped on 
civilian homes in wartime, it appears to have been overlooked as a means 
for dealing with modern terror bombing of oil facilities. Therefore, just 
as civiians were instructed during World War II to have sand available as 
a means to smother incendiary bombs dropped by an enemy, it is now 
possible to place sand banks near oil wells and gas facilities such that 
in the event of accident or sabotage the sand could be pushed over the 
area to put out the fire or at least allow the fire to be dispersed and 
extinguished by more convenient means, such as foam. 
As a special security feature, a premixed glass producing mixture 
containing sand as a principle ingredient could be packed around pipes in 
water tight packaging. In the event of a high temperature fire, the 
mixture would be converted to glass and flow into a rupture and stop the 
fire. Or such a mixture could be positioned directly above a potential 
fire source such that an actual fire would create a stream of molten glass 
to flow directly into the source of heat. As a further alternative, the 
gas or oil could pass through a sand filter below the surface of the sand 
surrounding the installation so that the sand filter would be converted to 
a glass well cap in the event of a fire. 
In detail, the process of the invention involves using sand which is 
available directly adjacent to an oil or gas well or facility in a manner 
which is superior to water and/or explosives. Specific properties of the 
sand are its ability to be mounded over the burning area in order to 
smother a fire as well as being able to be sprayed or sandblasted on the 
fire. Application of the sand as a spray or sandblast stream will allow 
sand to enter an open or ruptured pipe and break up the flames and remove 
heat required to restart ignition of the oil or gas. 
A stream or spray from, for example, a crane directed into the fire source 
would be capable of capping the opening at least long enough to put out 
the fire until sand could be mounded over the area to prevent reignition. 
If necessary, a glass forming mixture applied to a very hot fire under 
pressure can form a in situ cap for an otherwise uncontrollable fire. 
Drilling a new well might well be a viable option to having a well fore 
burn for years until the pressure became low enough that conventional 
means could be used which could allow reusing the well versus the 
possibility that a well capped with a solidified glass could not be 
reused. 
The present invention has industrial application in oil and gas recovery, 
refining, storage and transport. The following examples serve to 
illustrate the practice of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1 
A fire in a desert region producing billowing smoke and flames and heat 
which fuses the surrounding sand into silica requires sand to be mounded 
on the downwind side by earth moving means until sufficient sand is 
available to cover the site and extinguish the flames. 
EXAMPLE 2 
Flame emits from a ruptured pipe located in such a position that sand 
cannot be used to cover the pipe and smother the flames as in Example 1. 
This flame is extinguished by directing a high pressure sandblasting 
stream into the pipe to provide a back pressure adequate to cut off the 
supply of oxygen to the fire. 
EXAMPLE 3 
An oil fire is burning in a location where approaching with tracked 
vehicles might rupture pipes and spread the fire. Sand is dumped on the 
fire using containers suspended from cargo helicopters until the fire is 
mounded over with sand. 
EXAMPLE 4 
A gas well located in a desert region is capped below the surface in an 
excavation in the sand. Prior to placing a usual delivery valve system on 
the well shaft, a sand filter encased in a low melting alloy is positioned 
over the well shaft so that all gas exiting the well must pass through the 
filter. When all connections have been made and the excavation has been 
filled in with sand, the heat from an accidental or deliberate fire will 
convert the sand filter into a fused cap to seal off the gas and 
extinguish the fire. 
EXAMPLE 5 
A liquid glass sprinkler system for a capped or producing oil or gas well 
involves positioning a heat rupturable conical container filled with sand 
and at least one glass producing material directly over the well head. In 
the event of a fire of sufficient intensity to produce glass from the 
ingredients in the conical container, a flow of molten glass will be 
directed to the fire source in a direct proportion to the intensity of the 
fire. 
EXAMPLE 6 
The conical container of Example 5 is positioned over an oil or gas fire 
and allowed to extinguish the fire and cap the well.