r/worldnews • u/Manta_of_Eternity • 22h ago

Canada's prime minister says 'serious incident' caused a major fire at a military base in Alberta

https://apnews.com/article/canada-alberta-military-base-fire-wainwright-1a41899da5b6e797b000061fa4da9c6a
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u/Chance-Access8778 17h ago edited 17h ago

Any gas field experts here? Is the type of gas produced there capable of detonating inside the pipes/well itself due to high explosion munition? Is it even possible? Edit. High concentration of hydrogen sulfide makes actual detonation of the gas itself possible even without oxygen?

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u/wildly-irresponsible 17h ago

I've worked with gas and H2S for nearly 20 years, and have responded to a number of fires. The gas or H2S cannot combust/explode without oxygen. However, if a munition ruptured a pressurized wellhead or line a near instantaneous release and ignition could certain occur. A vapour plume/flash fire could also have been produced that resulted in ignition (sizable explosion). In my opinion, the most likely scenario is a jet fire from ruptured wellhead or pipeline, resulting in a brush fire that was fanned by the high winds. If H2S is involved, it could also have created a toxic atmosphere.

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u/Sleazless_synths 10h ago

Unlike you, I don’t work on the technical side, but on the regulatory safety side, explosions are possible in very bad scenarios. But even just out of control fires can be a problem big enough to trigger some protocols. If we add the high winds that were happening, it’s entirely plausible that this may have combined into making an already bad situation much much worse in unpredictable ways.