Workplace Fire Safety, 2

WORKPLACE FIRE SAFETY

Fire safety is important business. National Fire Prevention Week in October is intended to focus on the importance of fire safety in the home, in schools, and at work. But workplace fire safety is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) principal focus, and saving lives and preventing injuries due to fire is a key concern.

According to National Safety Council figures, losses due to workplace fires in 1988 totaled $3.1 billion. Of the more than 5,000 persons who lost their lives due to fires in 1988, the National Safety Council estimates that 360 were workplace deaths.

There is a long and tragic history of workplace fires in this country. One of the most notable was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City in 1911, in which nearly 150 women and young girls died because of locked fire exits and inadequate fire extinguishing systems.

History repeated itself recently in the fire in Hamlet, NC, where 25 workers died in a poultry-processing plant fire. It appears that here, too, were problems with fire exits and extinguishing systems.

When OSHA conducts workplace inspections, it checks to see whether employers are complying with OSHA standards for fire safety. OSHA standards require employers to provide proper exits, fire-fighting equipment, emergency plans, and employee training to prevent fire deaths and injuries in the workplace.

Building Fire Exits

• Each workplace building must have at least two means of escape, remote from each other, to be used in a fire emergency.
• Fire doors must not be blocked or locked to prevent emergency use when employees are within the buildings. Delayed opening of fire doors is permitted when an approved alarm system is integrated into the fire door design.
• Exit routes from buildings must be free of obstructions and properly marked with exit signs.

Portable Fire Extinguishers

• Each workplace building must have a full complement of the proper type of fire extinguisher for the fire hazards present.
• Employees expected to use fire extinguishers must be instructed on the hazards of fighting fire, how to operate the available extinguishers properly, and what procedures to follow in alerting others to the fire emergency.
• Only approved fire extinguishers are permitted to be used in workplaces, and they must be kept in good operating condition.
• When the employer wishes to evacuate employees instead of having them fight small fires, there must be written emergency plans and employee training for proper evacuation.

Emergency Evacuation Planning

• Each employer needs to have a written emergency action plan for evacuation of employees, describing routes to use and procedures to follow. Procedures for accounting for all evacuated employees must be part of the plan. The written plan must be available for employee review.
• When needed, special procedures for helping physically impaired employees must be addressed in the plan; also, the plan must include procedures for the employees who must remain behind temporarily to shut down critical plant equipment before evacuation.
• The preferred means of alerting employees to a fire emergency must be part of the plan, and an employee alarm system must be available throughout the workplace complex for use as an emergency alerting for evacuation. The alarm system may be voice communication or sound signals, such as bells, whistles, or horns. Employees must know the evacuation signal.
• Emergency training of all employees is required. Employers must review the plan with newly assigned employees so they know correct actions in an emergency, and with all employees when the plan is changed.

Class A - Ordinary combustible materials, wood, paper, etc. Treat with water (cooling) or dry chemicals (coating).

Class B - Flammable liquids, gases, and greases. Treat by excluding air with carbon dioxide, etc. Respirators may be required if the firefighters' supply of fresh air is threatened.

Class C - Electrical fires. Treat with non-conductive extinguishing agent.

Class D - Combustible and reactive metals, such as magnesium. Treat with non-reactive heat-absorbing extinguishing medium.

Fire Prevention Plan

• Employers need to implement a written fire prevention plan to complement the fire evacuation plan. (Stopping unwanted fires from occurring is the most efficient way to handle them!) The written plan shall be available for employee review.
• Housekeeping procedures for storage and cleanup of flammable materials and flammable waste must be included in the plan. Recycling of flammable waste, such as paper, is encouraged; however, handling and packaging procedures must be included in the plan.
• Procedures for controlling workplace ignition sources such as smoking, welding, and burning must be addressed in the plan. Heat-producing equipment-such as burners, heat exchangers, boilers, ovens, stoves, fryers, etc.-must be properly maintained and kept clean of accumulations of flammable residues; flammables are not to be stored close to these pieces of equipment.
• All employees are to be apprised of the potential fire hazards of their job and the procedures called for in the employers' fire prevention plan. The plan shall be reviewed with all new employees when they begin their job, and with all employees when the plan is changed.

Fire Suppression System

• Properly designed and installed fixed fire-suppression systems enhance fire safety in the workplace. Automatic sprinkler systems throughout the workplace are among the most reliable of them. The fire sprinkler system detects the fire, sounds an alarm, and puts the water where the fire and heat are located.
• Automatic fire-suppression systems require proper maintenance to keep them in serviceable condition. When it is necessary to take a fire-suppression system out of service while business continues, the employer must temporarily substitute a fire watch of trained employees standing by to respond quickly to any fire emergency in the normally protected area. The fire watch must interface with the employer's fire prevention plan and emergency action plan.
• Signs must be posted about areas protected by total-flooding fire-suppression systems that employee seriously hazardous materials, such as carbon dioxide, Halon 1211, etc. Such automatic systems must be equipped with area pre-discharge alarm systems to warn employees of the impending discharge of the system and allow time to evacuate the area. There must be an emergency action plan to provide for the safe evacuation of employees within the protected area. Such plans are to be part of the overall evacuation plan for the workplace facility.

There are five steps in fire prevention and protection: engineering, planning, training, inspection, and follow-up.

The first step in fire prevention is to engineer the site for fire prevention and protection. This requires attention to layout, design, construction, and materials. Automatic and manually operated, fixed sprinkler or extinguisher systems may be installed. Process and work flow should be analyzed for contribution to fire hazard or impeding effective response.

The second step is development, documentation, and communication of emergency response plans. Plans should include:

• Responsibilities of managers, supervisors, employees, the public
• Response resources including sprinklers and extinguishers, bypass, shutdown, and reservoir systems
• Response personnel duties, training, and tools
• Coordination with public resources, such as fire departments, and their equipment and facilities, such as hydrants
• Means of sounding alarm and communication with affected persons
• Isolation and containment planning
• Planning and resources for disabled and others
• Evacuation-locally, horizontally (nearby areas), and globally
• Shutdown procedures and back-up
• Emergency communication
• First aid provisions and training
• Provision as needed of water, food, clothing, and shelter

The third step is employee and public training:

• Are postings appropriate, understandable, and adequate?
• Are employees trained to identify and respond to emergency situations?
• Are designated employees trained to respond to fire emergencies?
• Are reviews and drills conducted as appropriate?

The fourth step is regular inspection to:

• Ensure compliance with plans
• Test systems and extinguishers
• Verify adequacy of postings
• Review response capability and training
• Identify new or existing hazards
• Effect and verify improvements

The fifth step includes:

• Maintain a watch after fire is extinguished
• Account for all personnel and public
• Secure the site, facilities, equipment, and materials
• Search affected areas for hazards-plumbing, electrical, structural, hazardous materials or fire by-products-and report findings
• Identify causes and effect changes to prevent recurrence
• Report as appropriate to management, government, and public

 

A-Assess the situation.

• Identify the hazard - nature, degree, auxiliary hazards
• Determine who is threatened - co-workers, other employees, public C-Choose your response.
• Individual action-extinguish a small contained fire
• Limited response involving others.
• Major response with fire and rescue department

T-Take action.

• Sound the alarm
• Warn co-workers and public
• Call, meet, and direct fire department
• Report to management

EVACUATION RULES

RESPONDING TO A FIRE

• Isolate the area as much as possible by closing doors, etc.
• Shut off required machinery, power, and gas
• Activate automatic and/or manual fire extinguishers
• Attempt to extinguish fire if it can be done without risk to your safety.
• Use only the extinguishers, hoses, and equipment you are trained to operate safely and effectively. Use respirators as needed after receiving proper training.

 

Reprinted with permission from SIC Safety Information Currents.