Fire in hot asphalt cargo hold, spontaneous ignition during unloading

While unloading hot asphalt from a marine tanker, a fire broke out in the cargo hold. The likely cause was ingress of air caused by the unloading operation and subsequent ignition of asphalt deposits in the headspace due to the presence of pyrophoric iron sulphide compounds. The fire suddenly intensified while personnel were contemplating their options, but it responded well to a foam attack when
the decision eventually was taken.