Jim Haight wrote to TOM WALKER:   
      
    >> Magnesium fires cannot be extinguished by water. Magnesium continues   
    >> to burn after oxygen is depleted. It than reacts with nitrogen from   
    >> air to form magnesium nitride (Mg3N2). When attempts are made to   
    >> extinguish magnesium fires with water, magnesium aggressively reacts   
    >> with hydrogen gas. To prevent any damage, a magnesium fire must be   
    >> covered in sand. An example of a magnesium compound is magnesium   
    >> phosphide (Mg3P2), an odorous, grey solid. When this compound comes in   
    >> contact with water or moist air, it is decomposed and phosphine (PH3)   
    >> is formed. This is a toxic compound, and it is also very flammable in   
    >> air.   
      
    JH> Yep!  All you can do is walk away..very fast!   
      
   On the contrary, you can throw dirt on it and it will smother, IF you   
   caught it soon enough. When I worked at Boeing, they had magnesium fire   
   extinguishers and every machinist who was machining magnesium had an   
   extinguisher and an operator standing by. I was a tool & die maker there   
   and had the run of everywhere anybody with a 'secret' security clearance   
   could go. Boeing's SST wing pivot was made out of magnesium and there   
   was never a fire that got out of hand that I knew of...   
      
      
            R\%/itt   
      
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
   --- D'Bridge 3.92   
    * Origin: Bow Tie Racers, Been There, Done That! (1:387/22)