Fire Prevention Elements

Fatma Lestari, PhD

Fire Prevention Elements

1. Audit Program2. Layout and Spacing3. Control of Ignition Sources4. Employee Training5. Housekeeping6. Incident Investigation7. Inherently Safer Design8. Plant Maintenance9. Management of Change10.Material Hazards11.Alarm and Surveillance

Fire Prevention Elements12.Process hazard analysis (Bagian 6)13. Risk analysis (Bagian 6)14.Fire protection equipment

inspection (Bagian 10)15. Impairment handling (Bagian 10)16. Emergency response (Bagian 11)

1 Audit Program An audit is a systematic, independent review to

verify conformance with established guidelines or standards

An audit uses a well-defined review process to ensure consistency and allow the auditor to reach conclusions

An audit evaluates the procedures, operations, and activities performed in the management and execution of a program in order to verify conformity to established criteria

to provide feedback to management and those responsible for the status of the audited program

2 Layout and Spacing

layout and spacing as a key means of preventing the spread of fires

All site buildings and structures are constructed of noncombustible materials, particularly exteriors and structural support systems.

Control rooms, operating offices, and their occupants are separated from potential hazardous processing areas.

2 Layout and Spacing Storage of large volumes of flammable or

combustible materials is separated from high value operating or processing areas and personnel occupancies.

Fire process heaters and boilers, incinerators, flares, and other equipment with flame burners are located at an appropriate distance from high value operating or processing areas, large volume storage of flammable or combustible materials, control rooms, operating offices, and their occupants.

3 Control of Ignition Sources A fundamental element of fire

prevention The process should be designed,

installed, and operated to minimize or prevent the release or spill of flammable gases, liquids, or combustible dusts

eliminate or control ignition sources

3 Control of Ignition Sources Electrical area classification Control of personal ignition sources Control of hot work Control of static electricity

Electrical Area Classification National Electric Code (NFPA 70)

divides hazardous locations into three classes according to the nature of the hazard: Class I Flammable Liquids and Gases Class II Combustible Dusts Class III Easily Ignitable Fibers and

Flyings

Personal Ignition Sources These ignition sources include any

material, object, or device that is potentially or capable of producing a spark. Pagers cellular phones personal digital assistants (PDAs) personal radios music players

Personal Ignition Sources matches, lighters carelessly discarded cigarettes other smoking materials

Hot Work Open flame of a torch used for heating or

thawing process lines Torch cutting Welding Improperly applied electric arc welding

grounding clamps Molten slag or metal that flows from the work

piece Improperly handled soldering iron or propane

torch Grinding sparks that fly from the work Electric motor-powered hand tools

Hot Work Portable heaters Forklift trucks or other industrial powered vehicles

not rated or classified for use in a potentially hazardous area

Vacuum tank trucks removing spilled flammable/combustible material

Roofing installation or repair using hot-mopped asphalt or using openflame

heating devices to seal roofing sheet membrane seams

Diesel engines need to be remotely sited or provided with flame arrestors, insulation on hot surfaces/exhausts

Hot Work Control of hazards related to portable

equipment and hot work requires developing and maintaining a comprehensive hot work procedure

Assigned responsibility for the program A permit system requiring:

Job site to be inspected before work begins Testing for the presence of flammable vapors

and inspection for combustible materials Personal protective equipment appropriate to the

job

Hot Work Additional temporary protections, e.g., a

firewatch with fire extinguisher A time limit for the duration of the permit Signed approval by a designated authorized

person Close-out of work permit

Training of personnel Providing/maintaining necessary

equipment, e.g., flammable vapor detectors

Auditing and periodic review of program.

Static Electricity Flow of liquids in piping Pneumatic conveying of dusts, powders, or particulates Splash or free-fall filling of tanks, vessels, or containers Mixing and blending of powders Use of wet steam Moving nonconductive rubber belts, e.g., conveyors or

drive belts Personnel wearing nonconductive shoes Static generated by clothing Atmospheric lighting strikes Stray electrical currents from faulty equipment,

improperly applied electric welding leads, or other sources

4 Employee Training

to provide knowledge of process operations and job execution skills is an important aspect of incident and fire prevention

execute fire protection tasks

5 Housekeeping poor housekeeping contributes to an increased

frequency of loss and greater loss potential Greater continuity of combustibles that makes fire

spread easier and increases the area of involvement. Impaired ingress and egress. Increased overall combustible loading that provides

more fuel to feed a fire and can increase the severity of the fire.

Increased potential for severe secondary dust explosions when dust accumulates.

Increased probability of fire. Increased probability of spontaneous ignition in

residue accumulations or thick dust layers.

Clean environment and conditions free from combustible fuel which can potentially ignited

Do not put flammable materials in the trash bin

Placement of recycle bin materials (paper, cardboard) proper placement, do not block means of escape

Corridors and stairways should be free from fuel loads (trash bin, recycle materials bin, etc)

No combustible materials outside the recycle bin containers

5 Housekeeping

6 Incident Investigation Accidents cause:

Serious injury to personnel Significant damage to property Adverse environmental impact A major interruption of process operations

A facility’s incident investigation process should be based on a documented procedure defining the goals and requirements of incident investigations and providing detailed steps outlining how incident investigations will be performed and reported

6 Incident Investigation

The facility Incident Investigation Procedure should clearly establish the process, responsibilities, and accountability for incident investigations

7 Inherently Safer Design

Inherent or Intrinsic—eliminating the hazard by using materials and process conditions that are nonhazardous (e.g., substituting water for a flammable solvent).

Passive—eliminating or minimizing the hazard by process and equipment design features that do not eliminate the hazard, but do reduce either the frequency or consequence of the hazard without the need for any device to function actively (e.g., the use of higher pressure-rated equipment).

7 Inherently Safer Design Active—using controls, safety interlocks, and

emergency shutdown systems to detect potentially hazardous process deviations and take corrective action. These are commonly referred to as engineering controls.

Procedural—using operating procedures, administrative checks, emergency response, and other management approaches to prevent incidents or to minimize the effects of an incident. These are commonly referred to as administrative controls.

8 Plant Maintenance

Overall plant-wide maintenance is an element of fire prevention

It is shared with the business need to maintain the production process, as well as

with Process Safety Management and other health, safety, and environmental programs

Poor Maintenance

Change in key indicators, i.e., mean time between failure, overdue inspections, reduced equipment availability

Frequent or temporary repairs Process leaks, releases, and spills Missing covers on equipment Electrical panels left open Insulation left off after maintenance Unpainted rusting pipework and structural

metal Nonfunctional gauges and instruments

Good Maintenance Program Elements High ratio of preventive to repair

maintenance work A maintenance organization with leadership

that can implement and support an effective maintenance program and appropriately trained personnel who will consistently “do the job right the first time, on time.”

An ongoing risk analysis and risk ranking system that focuses and supports maintenance program needs.

Good Maintenance Program Elements Risk-based maintenance priorities that ensure

sufficient resources are applied to items identified as high risk (critical equipment).

Clear management support and commitment for critical equipment maintenance, testing, and inspection, since these activities often require production downtime in order to be performed.

Written procedures to describe how critical equipment maintenance will be performed, quality-controlled, and safety-ensured, such as use of decontamination, hot work, line-breaking, and lockout/tagout procedures.

Good Maintenance Program Elements An efficient work order system that provides

adequate description of work to be performed, the parts required, and the procedures to be followed.

This work order system should also document completed work information in equipment history files.

Controls and sign-offs in the work order system that ensure Management of Change procedures are followed.

Precautions and practices to ensure that equipment worked on has been restored to its normal conditions before it is returned to service.

Good Maintenance Program Elements A maintenance information system that

details equipment and component maintenance scope and frequency, documents work completed, and provides feedback on maintenance program effectiveness.

Controls and surveillance procedures that ensure contractor-performed work also adheres to all facility health, safety, and environmental, and loss prevention programs.

9 Management of Change

Management of Change (MOC) procedures ensure that changes and modifications to operations receive appropriate review and approval before implementation

to ensure that proposed changes are analyzed for their possible impact on fire prevention

review of potential hazards Approval by a designated person or function

with fire prevention and protection responsibility.

10 Material Hazards

Materials Hazard Identification and information gathering is an essential element of fire prevention

Materials Hazard Identification program requires knowledge of a material’s toxicity and reactivity, as well as flammability

Materials Hazards Evaluation Program Assign responsibility for the program to determine the

physical and chemical properties of each material handled at the facility.

Collect available information, evaluate the hazardous properties, and identify the relative hazard levels of each substance and any necessary handling precautions.

Identify those potentially hazardous materials for which important properties are unknown and conduct appropriate material hazards evaluation tests.

Distribute material hazard information and handling precautions to employees, emergency response organization, and others as appropriate.

Material Safety Data Sheets Facilities should obtain data about a

substance from the chemical manufacturers’ Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) or from other published sources

material brought onsite by contractors

11 Alarm and Surveillance

Provide notification of emergency events Can be used manually by people

observing the emergency Can automatically activate protection

systems Notify those onsite of an emergency and

communicate actions to take Provide surveillance of the facility for fire Notify offsite emergency response

organizationsNFPA 72, NFPA 101

11 Alarm and Surveillance

A continuously manned location for receiving and acting on reported incidents and emergencies.

Automated detection and protection systems to signal at an offsite central alarm station service for continuous monitoring.

A reporting system for personnel to report incidents and emergencies to the manned station. This could include an “alarm pull-box” system, plant telephones, or radios.

11 Alarm and Surveillance An alarm system for notifying personnel of an

emergency in progress and for communicating action required, such as information only, shelter-in-place, or evacuate. This could include bells, sirens, whistles, horns, or public address systems.

A documented procedure for periodically and systematically testing the reporting and alarm systems to confirm their functionality.

Assurance of an acceptable level of surveillance for the facility by appropriate resources, procedures, and facility design features.

Security measures Perimeter fences with anti-climbing features Adequate illumination of perimeter and key

areas at night Locked gates at road and railroad entrances Surveillance video cameras at gates,

perimeters, and strategic locations Guard/security personnel sufficient to staff a

central station and provide routine checks at key points in the facility

Motion detectors