# GL2Z LNG Fire Water System

By benelhadj djelloul djamel

Topic: Engineering

[Open the interactive Jig](https://ask.jig.com/j/S9oam5aqmvFI)

## Guide

### 1. A giant gas plant by the sea

At Bethioua, east of Oran, the GL2Z plant chills natural gas to minus 162 degrees Celsius until it turns into a liquid called LNG\. Six production trains and three huge tanks fill ships at the jetty\. Guarding all of it is a network of red pipes: the fire water system\.

GL2Z opened in 1981 and covers 72 hectares, about 100 football pitches\. Drag the scene to look around\.

### 2. Water from the sea

A fire water system needs a huge supply of water that never runs out\. On the GL2Z network plan, the fire pumping station stands right beside the seawater pumping stations, and a basin, 2401\-A, sits near the trains\. Coastal plants like this usually fight fire with seawater\.

The plan names two seawater stations, an existing one and a new one, for the GNL1 and GNL2 sides\.

### 3. The pump house

Inside the pumping station, small jockey pumps run quietly all the time to keep the pipes full and under pressure\. When a fire hydrant or monitor opens, the pressure drops and big fire pumps start on their own\. A diesel pump is the backup if the electricity fails\.

A typical LNG site keeps its network at about 8 to 9 bar, eight or nine times the air pressure around us\.

### 4. A ring of red pipes

From the pumps, water flows into a fire main that loops around every train and every tank\. Because the pipes form rings, water can reach any point from two directions\. If one section breaks, valves close it off and water still arrives the other way round\.

In the real plant most of the fire main runs underground\. This model draws it on the surface so you can follow it\.

### 5. Hydrants along every road

Hydrants stand beside the roads all around the plant, like red posts waiting for a hose\. Firefighters connect their hoses or fire engines to them in seconds\. The water inside is already under pressure, so it arrives instantly\.

Standards often place hydrants about every 30 metres around hazardous process areas\.

### 6. Guardians of the giant tanks

Each LNG tank holds about 100,000 cubic metres, enough to fill 40 Olympic swimming pools\. Monitors, which are steerable water cannons, stand around each tank\. A spray ring around the top can drape the tank in a curtain of water to keep it cool\.

Monitors are kept a safe distance from the equipment they protect, often at least 15 metres away\.

### 7. Fire drill\!

Let's run a practice drill near tank FB\. Press the button: a detector raises the alarm, the fire pumps start and water races around the ring from both sides\. Then the monitors and the spray ring cool the tank and its neighbours\.

Watch the pipes: the bright water front shows how far the water has travelled\.

### 8. Cool, not drown

Water is not normally sprayed straight onto burning LNG\. Firefighters use dry chemical powder or special foam for that\. The fire water's big job is to keep tanks, pipes and people cool and safe while the fire is controlled\.

This model's layout follows the GL2Z fire network plan\. Pump numbers and pressures are typical values, not GL2Z's own\.