WATCH: Wyoming sulfur fire creates ‘Beautiful Flames’ and ‘Hazardous Gas’
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WORLAND, Wyoming — On Friday, Worland Volunteer Fire Chief Chris Kocher received a phone call alerting him of a “blue glow” in a rural area off Highway 20 North.
When firefighters arrived, they realized a sulfur mound had been ignited and despite the beautiful blue flames, the burning sulfur was creating a hazardous gas called sulfur dioxide.
The gas has a very strong, choking odor that can harm your lungs and even kill you. Firefighters put on a self-contained breathing apparatus and began tackling the blaze.
The crew used only a small amount of water from the fire truck plus firefighting foam. That way, the temperature of the sulfur could be cooled down below 309 degrees Fahrenheit — when it’s in a molten stage — so that a crust formed at the surface. “And then the fire’s out,” Kocher tells The Verge, adding that the fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes.
The department posted a video of the fire on its Facebook page Friday morning and it has been viewed over two million times.
The deposits were leftover from the Texas Gulf Sulfur Plant that operated north of Worland in the 1950’s, according to the department’s Facebook page.
“This is a type of fire that is not common but needs to be addressed and dealt with safely and quickly,” the post reads.