From 2011 to 2015, industrial and manufacturing facilities experienced an annual average of 37,910 fires. 16 civilians died, 279 were injured, and over $1 billion in direct property damage was caused by these industrial fires. While there were several factors that contributed to the fires, management and employees’ ignorance of the facility’s various risks were major factors. Read More Business News on our website.
Fires are a serious problem, and preventing them is essential to avoiding harm to people, deaths, and property. Knowing the risks in your facility and how to properly manage them is an important part of prevention. Facilities face severe consequences for fires and explosions because they are frequently preventable. In one instance, OSHA assessed a fine of nearly $150,000 to the company after a worker was injured while working on a dust collector that caught fire.
Causes of Industrial Fires and Explosions
- Combustible Dust
Combustible dust is the leading factor in industrial facility fires and explosions. Flammable residue can be tracked down in numerous modern offices, from food handling plants to synthetic plants. OSHA defines it as a solid material made up of particles that have the potential to cause an explosion or fire. A fire can start when dust, oxygen, and an ignition source combine.
An explosion, which is difficult to contain and can result in secondary, larger explosions, is also possible if the dust is dispersed within an enclosed space.
- Hot Work
Welding and torch cutting is typically regarded as examples of hot work. However, it also includes other processes like soldering, brazing, burning, and heating, all of which increase the risk of industrial fires.
The dangers happen because of the sparkles that hot work gear makes, and liquid materials that can reach past 1,000ºF and travel more than 35 ft. The sparkles and intensity from hot work, joined with flammable residue, prompt numerous modern fires and blasts.
- Flammable Products
Flammable liquids and gases are another common cause of industrial fires. Chemical plants typically experience these kinds of fires because they work with products that are highly flammable, like fuel, acrylic acid, and crude oil.
There are some of the most dangerous fires and explosions occur when these products come into contact with ignition sources like electrical plugs, hot work, and sparking equipment.
Natural gas was the cause of an explosion in 2010 that killed six people and injured fifty others at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown, Connecticut. OSHA proposed $16.6 million in penalties for alleged 370 workplace safety violations as a result of this massive explosion.
- Faulty Machinery and Equipment Faulty
Machinery and equipment pose another threat to industrial facilities’ fire safety. An industrial fire can result from any equipment used to heat products or do hot work, especially if the equipment doesn’t work right. Fires and explosions are especially common in homes with furnaces.
Industrial fire safety is seriously compromised when equipment is improperly maintained, installed, operated, or maintained. Because moving parts can cause friction and sparking, which can cause a fire or explosion, especially when combined with combustible dust, equipment with moving parts poses an additional risk.
- Electrical Hazards
Among the electrical dangers that could cause an industrial fire are:
Using extension cords, overloading outlets, and circuits, and the presence of static discharge are all examples of exposed wiring that is not up to code.
Sparking can occur as a result of any one of these dangers, which can ignite combustible dust and other flammable products. Electrical hazards can cause damage that grows quickly, especially if more than one is present at the same time.
How to Prevent Fires and Explosions
- Conduct a Hazard Analysis
One of the requirements of NFPA 652, also known as the Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust, is to conduct a Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA). By identifying dangers posed by combustible dust, this tool is designed to help industrial plant owners and managers improve their facility’s fire safety.
A DHA is a requirement of NFPA 652, but it can be used to check the entire facility for hazards. It will assist with pinpointing what region of the office represents the most serious dangers in security, and assist with deciding how to improve and kill those dangers which will permit you to make your office more secure and assist with keeping away from serious fines and punishments from OSHA.
- Train Employees
Fire Safety Training is essential for employee safety in general and for preventing industrial fires in particular. Modern fire well-being preparation ought to incorporate general and occupation explicit security. Employees ought to be taught:
Explosions and fires’ causes, how they spread, how to identify dangers, and how to handle and store flammable materials.
Fire prevention should also include the right cleaning methods to make sure that materials like combustible dust don’t stay where they could be dangerous. What to do in the event of a fire, from extinguishing it to safely evacuating all employees, should also be covered in fire safety training.
- Practice Good Housekeeping
Additionally, according to the fire safety industry, proper housekeeping is essential for preventing explosions and fires. According to OSHA’s Good Housekeeping Guidelines, facilities are required by law to adhere to them. These rules are for keeping a spotless, protected, and sterile office. They consist of:
Getting paper and other combustible merchandise far from electrical and heat sources.
securely enclosing flammable goods.
promptly notifying equipment malfunctions or problems.
OSHA guidelines also make it important to use certified cleaning equipment. Industrial vacuums are necessary for keeping facilities clean, and HafcoVac offers certified, high-quality industrial vacuums that are ideal for preventing fires and explosions. Since housekeeping rules are obligatory, the inability to agree can bring about serious fines.
- Lay out a Fire Counteraction Plan and Crisis Methodology
It is basic to have a fire counteraction plan and crisis fire methodology set up. Every employee must be educated on the emergency and prevention plans included in an industrial fire safety plan.
A comprehensive evacuation plan that specifies what employees should do and where they should go in the event of an industrial fire should be included. Everyone should be able to access the plan, and it should be put into practice so that employees can better know what to do in these kinds of situations. Additionally, it is essential to regularly inform employees of these plans and procedures and to keep them up to date.
- Examine and Keep up with Your Hardware and Office
Inadequately kept up with hardware is a huge figure of modern flames and blasts. Inspection and upkeep of all facility equipment is a major requirement of the fire safety industry.
The equipment must be checked and maintained regularly to ensure its effective operation. Lubricating any motors or moving parts will prevent friction that could cause fires or sparks. Sprinklers and fire extinguishers should all be subjected to inspections at least twice a year, or more often for equipment that is frequently used.