Good evening fellow Firefighters

I want to take a moment to let everyone know that there is a new fuel in use in the Jacksonville area.  Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG has actually been around for many years but has recently grown in popularity with the clean energy push.  Here are some quick facts on LNG:

• It is natural gas, i.e. Methane that has been converted to liquid form for ease of storage and transportation.  LNG takes up 1/600^th the volume of natural gas in its normal  gaseous state.  For reference purposes a car reduced by 1/600^th of its original volume would fit on your thumb.  This is accomplished by cooling it to around -260 F.  It is a Cryogenic material and obviously would pose a freeze hazard when contacting human skin.
• LNG is odorless, colorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.  Hazards include flammability after vaporization into a gaseous state (same as natural gas, flammable range of 5-15%), freezing and Asphyxia.  Please take note that it is ODORLESS so unlike natural gas it will not be detectable to the human nose.  Odorants such as those used in LP and Natural gas cannot be used since they would freeze in this product.

LNG is transported in bulk tankers to distribution points where it is pumped into other vehicles.  The current pump station is located at 440 Lane Avenue South in District 26.  It is currently only being used in a few specially designed tractor trailers but this number is sure to increase.  There is also a proposal to use LNG in Rail Locomotives in the near future.  The bottom line is this new fuel is here and we will no doubt be dealing with it when accidents occur.  The Hazmat Teams will be getting some added training on LNG and will of course pass on any info to the rest of the department.

Here is a link to the MSDS for LNG

http://lindelng.com/pdf/LindeLNG_msds_un1972.pdf

Please feel free to contact station 7 or 21 with any questions/concerns.

Everyone stay safe and good luck to those studying