Fire Safety Safety Meeting Series

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Fire SafetySafety Meeting Series
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Fire Safety

• Each year in Canada, over 1500 industrial fires
  occur causing approximately 140,000,000 in
  property damage
• Some organizations may never get back up and
  running if the damage is that severe

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Fire Triangle

• Oxygen
• 16 O2 needed
• Air has 21
• Heat
• Open flames, sun, sparks from cutting and welding
• Fuel
• Liquids gasoline
• Gases propane, acetylene
• Solids paper, wood, cloth

For a fire to sustain, all three must be present
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Fire Tetrahedron

• For fire to continue the following four things
  are needed
• Fuel
• Oxygen
• Heat
• Chemical reactions
• These are often represented by the fire
  tetrahedron.
• Take away one and the fire goes out.

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Class A Fires

• Fires involving ordinary combustible materials,
  such as paper, wood, and textile fibers, where a
  cooling, blanketing, or wetting extinguishing
  agent is needed.
• Symbolized by an A inside a green triangle
• Extinguishing agent
• Water
• Dry Chemical

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Class B Fires

• Fires involving flammable liquids such as
  gasoline, thinners, oil-based paints and greases.
  
• Symbolized by a B inside a red square
• Extinguishing agent
• Carbon Dioxide
• Dry Chemical

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Class C Fires

• Fires involving energized electrical equipment,
  where a non-conducting gaseous clean agent or
  smothering agent is needed.
• Symbolized by a C inside a blue circle
• Extinguishing agent
• Carbon Dioxide
• Dry Chemical

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Class D Fires

• Fires involving combustible metals such as
  magnesium, sodium, potassium, titanium, and
  aluminum. Special dry powder extinguishing agents
  are required for this class of fire, and must be
  tailored to the specific hazardous metal.
• Symbolized by a D inside a yellow star
• Extinguishing agent
• Carbon Dioxide
• Dry Chemical

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Major Causes of Industrial Fires

• Electrical or mechanical failure
• Improper handling of flammable liquids
• Sparks from cutting/welding
• Poor housekeeping
• Careless smoking
• Arson

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Controlling Fire Hazards

• When we look at controlling fire hazards we
  usually talk about three areas
• Fire Prevention work and activities that
  prevent the causes of fire
• Fire Protection activities to address the work
  required to prevent the spread of a fire once it
  is underway
• Fire Extinguishment activities involved to put
  the fire out

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Fire Prevention

• Proper storage of flammable material
• Preventive maintenance program
• Safe waste disposal
• Safe use of electrical wiring, building material
  and heating equipment
• Designated smoking areas

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Fire Protection

• Periodic testing of fire suppression system
• Use of fire walls and doors
• Assessment of fire suppression locations and
  effectiveness

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Fire Extinguishment

• Fire safety training
• Fire extinguisher training and use
• Uninterrupted water supply
• Fire department availability and access
• Alarm systems