The 4-mile by 2-1/2-mile burn began as a grass fire in the tinder-dry wildland area outside of Morwell. The grass fire ignited a brown coal seam, resulting in an open-pit mine fire that burned for weeks and seemed unstoppable.

The Morwell open-cut mine is located in Victoria, within the Latrobe Valley, just southeast of Melbourne. The mine is a critical source of the brown coal used as fuel for the nearby Hazelwood power generation station, which powers eight 200-megawatt generators and creates approximately 30 percent of Victoria’s electricity. Without the coal, at least 1/3 of the area’s power including lights and air conditioning, were at risk.

• In Morwell, mail delivery stopped.
• The local courthouse was temporarily closed.
• The elementary school shifted its students to a nearby town.
• Some 18 local firefighters were initially treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, and air pollutants in the town were said to be 10 to 15 times above safe limits.
• As the brown coal fire burned, Morwell residents routinely wore masks as they walked around town.
• The Australian government offered free rail fares to the residents if they would vacate the area; some were given stipends to leave the area temporarily.

No end was in sight.

The mine owners needed to stop the fire and make sure the local residents had clean breathable air. They called in the Victoria County Fire Authority, headed by Rick Owen. The firefighters would need to work feverishly to get the fire under control.

Wireless Area Monitors Provide Citizen, Worker, And Responder Protection
Firefighters deployed a gas detection strategy that relied on 25 AreaRAE transportable gas monitors throughout the 4-mile by 2-1/2 mile vicinity of the mine and surrounding townships. These AreaRAE monitors wirelessly polled two separate base stations, which transmitted through the broadband Internet to a central computer. Data was instantly delivered in real-time, then recorded, archived and summarized in a spreadsheet for review and analysis by key stakeholders.

The rugged, portable AreaRAE monitors allowed Victoria County Fire Authority responders to quickly establish a fire perimeter. The AreaRAE’s photoionization detector (PID) allowed responders to measure and track volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in parts per million, as well as track oxygen and lower explosive limit (LEL) compounds.

Real-time gas readings were transmitted to a base station that utilized ProRAE Guardian software that operated on a Windows-based platform but could be accessed via tablet computers and smartphones by the responders. ProRAE Guardian aggregated, logged and displayed sensor information from the AreaRAE wireless gas detection instruments, biometric data, and GPS information into a comprehensive real-time display of threat data.

*Article taken from RAE Systems True Stories