Local Lending (Illinois Residents Only)
Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Tank cars carrying ethanol burn after derailment in Cherry Valley, IL, June 19, 2009--photo by NTSB
The U.S. produces 13.7 billion gallons of ethanol every year, and 1.6 billion of that comes from Illinois. Ethanol is the number one hazardous material being transported today, and it significantly differs chemically from petroleum-based fuels. Though ethanol is commonly discussed in the context of environmental protection and sustainability, the safety issues surrounding ethanol use are less commonly mentioned. Because ethanol is primarily alcohol, water will not extinguish an ethanol fire, nor will most types of foam. Alcohol-resistant foams (AR foams), such as AR-AFFF foam, are the best means of fighting ethanol fires. It is important for firefighters to understand the properties of ethanol and how to respond to ethanol emergencies.
This guide was produced by the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) library to bring together ethanol resources that are relevant to fire fighters and emergency responders. On this page, you will find links and information about ethanol training at IFSI as well as a list of relevant IFSI library items. Subpages of this guide include information on preparing for ethanol emergencies, links to reports and news articles covering real-world ethanol fires, and an overview of the ethanol industry.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute Library contains books, codes and standards, DVDs, CDs, periodicals, manuals, e-resources, audiobooks, and other fire emergency resources, totaling over 65,000 items. We serve all first responders in the state of Illinois. Materials can be requested in person, by phone or email, or online through our catalog. You can search our catalog by title, author, keyword, subject, or publisher, and choose the formats you want to see. Enter as few or as many search terms as you would like; the more search terms you use the fewer results you'll get, but the results will be more specific. If you live in Illinois and have a public library card, we can send materials to your public library via interlibrary loan. Anyone is also welcome to visit us in person!
The Illinois Fire Service Institute commonly delivers training to fire departments at their locations and encourages departments to team with neighboring departments to maximize attendance and to help deliver consistent training. These classes are available under IFSI's Cornersone Program at no cost to the department. Classes are also available during IFSI's annual Fire College and at regional training schools.
These links take you to the IFSI catalog. To request an item, click "Add to Request Bin." This takes you to a page where you can fill out the online request form and submit to the IFSI library. To request items, you must be an Illinois resident with a library card from an Illinois library.
Library Hours:
8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Monday - Friday
Special operating hours may be held during events.
IFSI Library Staff:
Lian Ruan, Head Librarian: lruan@illinois.edu
Diane Richardson, Reference & User Training Librarian: dlrichar@illinois.edu
David Ehrenhart, Archivist and Metadata Librarian: ehrenha1@illinois.edu
