Ihab Saad – Subpart F Fire
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Welcome to another safety class, and today we're going to talk
about subpart F, which is fire protection and prevention.
Definitely, fires are one of the major hazards on construction
sites. So today we're going to talk about what could be the major
sources of that fire and how to protect against any fires on
construction sites.
So that's just an example to show here that we have some combustible
fuels, which in this case is oxygen tanks. If fire reaches
these tanks, which is very close here, that can cause a major
explosion and a huge fire,
the most frequently cited violations when it comes to
to fire. That was actually in the year 2004 which is pretty much the
same for every year
150 c1 I
fire extinguishes for every 3000 square feet of building area not
existing.
150 c1, four, extinguishers on each floor are not existing. 153
Oh,
liquid petroleum gas systems, Petro protection from vehicular
traffic. 150 a, one five, the non existence of a fire protection
program, and 150 c1, six extinguishers within 50 feet of
flammables. So these are the major violations when it relates to
fire.
Let's first of all identify a few things. The first definition is
about what is flammable. Flammable is any material capable of being
easily ignited, burning intent intensely or having a rapid rate
of flame spread.
Flammable liquids are liquids having a flash point, which is the
point of ignition below 140 degrees Fahrenheit and a vapor
pressure not exceeding 40 pounds per square inch. So these are the
flammable liquids.
Another definition is a safety can, because we're going to talk
about storage in safety can. So what's a safety can? It's an
approved closed container of not more than five gallon capacity,
having a flash arresting screen, spring closing lid and spout cover
designed so it will safely relieve internal pressure when exposed to
fire, because if the pressure keeps building Inside, it's going
to explode.
These are samples of
these safety cans. And as you can see, it's labeled as a safety can,
and the liquid inside is a flammable liquid. This one here is
a regular gas, and so on. So they are going to be labeled on the
outside as well.
That's another example of a safety can
these are definitely not considered to be safety cans
because they do not satisfy the previous conditions. So you cannot
store flammable liquids in these
that's another example of an non approved container for flammable
liquids. In this case, actually, it's covered, even not with the
cover, but with the rag for the cap. So that's a double whammy.
General requirements when it comes to fire protection, the employer
must develop the fire protection program to be followed through
construction and provide all equipment as required for
firefighting, we're going to talk about the different kinds of
equipment that are going to be used in case of building under
construction or a permanent construction, or whatever
water supply a temporary Of course, as we know, the easiest
way to put off fires is using water so a temporary or permanent
water supply of sufficient volume, duration and pressure must be made
available as soon as combustible materials accumulate.
Where underground water mains are to be provided, they must be
installed and available as soon as practical at the very beginning of
the construction project. So usually when you see immediately
after the excavation, we have the infrastructure, which includes the
water pipes and the water mains and sewage lines and so on and so
forth.
Here's an example on the installation of water main as and
as you can see, that's at the very beginning phases of construction.
Water Supply stand pipes in all structures where standpipes are
required, they must be maintained as construction progresses in such
a manner that they are always ready for fire protection use. So
these are going to be dedicated for fire protection. Standpipes
must be provided with the Siamese Fire Department Connect.
Action on the outside of the structure at the street level and
conspicuously marked. So. This is an example of the Siamese Fire
Department connection, which is has more than one outlet, as you
can see, and they have to be conspicuously marked, which means
marked in a very obvious place, so that no one is going to search for
them, or they can be hidden.
So here's an example, fire department, departments, 10, five
connection. It's very clear with a sign
fire cutoffs. Now, in case of a fire, we want to limit the spread
of that fire, basically until we get some external support, or
someone calls the fire department and things like that. So when
talking about walls and doors that are going to contain that fire,
fire walls and exit stairways must be given construction priority. So
you're going to have fire rated dry walls, for example, or fire
rated masonry walls or block walls, things like that. Fire
doors must be hung on openings as soon as practical again, to
isolate that fire and keep it contained within that room. Fire
cutoffs must be retained in buildings undergoing alterations
or demolition until operations require their removal. These
include things like sprinklers, for example, if you're going to
demolish a building or you're going to alter the internal use of
the building, you should keep the sprinklers until the last possible
moment, so that in case a fire erupts, at least you're gonna have
the means to put it off.
Portable firefighting equipment are usually extinguishers, which
must be placed as follows, one to a extinguisher for every three
3000 square feet of floor, space, travel distance not to exceed 100
feet. So that anyone from any point on that floor,
anyone trying to reach that fire extinguisher, are not going to
travel more than 100 feet, at least one per floor and one by
each stairwell. So these are the requirements for the portable
extinguishers.
The alternative to a two way extinguisher is going to be a 55
gallon drum of water with two fire pails. So that's an alternative,
or a half inch garden hose, not longer than 100 feet, because
otherwise it can get tangled and get knots with nozzle capable of
discharging five gallons per minute, so allowing for a quick
discharge of water, the hoses must be located on racks or reefs again
to prevent the puncture to the hoses or the disconnection or the
tangling and knotting and so on.
Another portable firefighting equipment would be a 10 B
extinguisher, which must be within 50 feet of five gallons of
flammable liquid or gas. We're going to talk about the A and the
B and so on in just a couple of minutes. So a 10 B, extinguisher
which is going to be suitable for flammable liquids or gasses, has
to be placed within 50 feet of any five gallons containers.
Extinguishers must be inspected and maintained per NF PA, which is
a National Fire Protection Agency.
Here we have a B, actually it's a b and c, but the C has been
torn from or erased from, from that distinguisher. So it shows
what kind of fires it can resist, and it shows its capacity when it
was inspected, who inspected it, and so on and so forth. So it
shows that it's ready for use.
It must be conspicuously located. So again, here you can clearly see
it on site
and easily accessible on any floor, as we mentioned before.
Now to talk about the different types of fire, we have four
different categories of four different groups of fires, which
are A, B, C and D, the higher the latter, the more serious the fire
and the hotter that fire. So type A is lower than b, b is lower than
C, C is lower than d, d is the highest one
that classification, A is for wood, paper or trash, which is
most common, but can be easily extinguished. Its burning
temperature is not going to be that high. B is for flammable
liquids. That's why we mentioned that you're going to have it near
the containers, the five gallon containers less than 50 feet. C is
electrical equipment that's going to be burning at a higher
temperature, and D is combustible metals that's going to be the
highest temperature, and it's going to be the longest lasting
and the hardest to extinguish, basically.
And as you can notice, each one of them, in addition to the letter,
has a.
Symbol. So the A is in a triangle, the B is in a square, the C this
in a circle, and the D is in a star.
The sizing of the extinguishers, portable extinguishers are rated
for the size of fire they can handle. This rating is a number
from one to 40 for Class A fires, and one to 640 for Class B fires.
The larger the number, the larger the fire the extinguisher can put
out. So the higher, the stronger that extinguisher.
This extinguisher, for example, can work for three types, A, B and
C. So this is a multipurpose extinguisher.
This one is only for B and C.
For B and C, it can also cover a, but again, it's going to be
probably too expensive to use regularly for A, because A can be
extinguished much easier than that.
How to properly use a fire extinguisher. Always use the pass
system. Remember that pass. Pass stands for the P is, pull the a
is, aim. We're talking about the extinguisher, pull the pin, aim
the nozzle, squeeze and then sweep across the base of the fire to
extinguish that fire.
So the first step is to pull the pin. This allows you to discharge
the extinguisher.
That pin is a safety measure, just to so that it wouldn't discharge
by accident.
Aim, aim
the extinguisher at the base of the fire, aiming that the flames
would not put out the fire, but the base of the fire, that's where
the ignition is,
squeeze the handle. This would release the extinguishing agent,
whether it's powder, foam or water, whatever,
and sweep from side to side with the extinguishing agent until the
fire is out. So to cover across the base of that fire
during demolition or alteration, as we just mentioned, sprinklers
must be retained in service as long as reasonable. New
construction utilizing automatic sprinklers must must follow the
work and be placed in service as soon as practical. So for they're
basically the last out the first in. So once you are dismantling or
altering or demolishing, they stay for as long as possible, and when
you are building a new then they are installed as soon as possible.
Alarm devices. An alarm system must be established by the
employer that alerts employees and the fire department. The alarm
system can be phone, siren, radio, air horns, etc, and the aligned
alarm system must be posted at phones and job entrances so people
would know where that alarm system is, so that they can notify
everyone as soon as the fire alarms
electrical wiring and equipment. When we talked about electrical
work, we mentioned that fire is going to be one of the major
hazards in electrical work. So electrical wiring equipment for
light, heat and power must be installed per subpart K, which is
electrical. Gas powered equipment must point exhaust away from
combustible material, so that the heat from that exhaust might not
cause ignition to that material. Smoking must be prohibited in work
areas which may pose a fire hazard, so it's a better policy to
have zero smoking tolerance on construction sites. Now look at
this. He just chose the no smoking sign to start smoking underneath
it,
no temporary building may be erected where it would block or
hinder an exit, because, again, in case of a fire, you want to have a
safe exit for those who are inside the building. Temporary buildings
must be erected at least 10 feet from other structures, again to
allow for enough space for people to get out of the building. In the
case of panic, it must be constructed of non combustible
materials or have a fire resistance of not less than one
hour, so it can resist in case it gets on fire before collapsing,
it's going to resist the spread of that fire for at least an hour.
In case of open yard storage, combustibles must not be stacked
more than 20 feet high. So if you have any combustible material,
you're gonna stack it on site, in open yard storage not higher than
20 feet storage area must be kept clear of weeds, trash, or any
other combustibles that can ignite or can help with the ignition. So
you want to avoid that driveways must be at least 15 feet wide and
free of debris to accommodate travel of fire trucks, because you
know the fire trucks are much wider than regular vehicles, so
you want to allow for at least 15 feet wide access. You.
The entire storage site must be kept free of accumulation of
unnecessary combustible materials to try to limit the occurrence of
fire as much as possible. No combustible material may be stored
outdoors within 10 feet of a building or structure, because, in
case, people are trying to get out of the building, they do not need
to be exposed to an additional hazard of fire facing them, a
portable fire extinguisher, not less than two A must be located
within 100 feet. So that's in case of open yard storage.
For indoor storage, all materials must be stored, handled and piled,
with due regard to their fire characteristics, non combustible
materials which may create a fire hazard must be segregated by a
barrier with a fire resistance of at least one hour. So the minimum
fire resistance in this case to enclose the fire is going to be at
least one hour, clearance of at least 36 inches must be maintained
between stored materials and sprinkler deflectors, again to
allow for the sprinklers to work properly and to spread to the
required area.
Maintain clearance around lights and heating units to prevent
ignition of combustibles. So do not store the combustible material
too close to a source of heat or source of fire where it can cause
that ignition, adequate clearance must be maintained around fire
doors, again, because the fire doors are going to be used to
enclose the fire in case someone is inside, they need to get out.
So you need to have easy and free access in and out of that room
for Flammable and combustible liquids on the approved containers
and tanks, which are portable tanks that we're talking about,
are to be used. It cannot be stored at exits, stairs or
passageways, because, again, that defeats the purpose of an exit
point in case of a fire. These, by themselves, are a big fire hazard,
so you want to eliminate them, or keep them away from the exits and
the doors and the stairs
here are, for example, flammable stored in a stairwell with no fire
extinguisher in the area. That's a big violation
for the storage of these Flammable and combustible liquids, no more
than 25 gallons of flammable or combustible liquids may be stored
in a room outside of an approved storage cabinet. So they have you
can have more than 25 gallons, but inside the storage cabinet, no
more than 60 gallons of flammable, of flammable or 120 gallons of
combustible liquids can be stored in any one storage cabinet. So
even if you're gonna have a storage cabinet to contain this
combustible or flammable material, it should not contain more than 60
gallons of flammable or 120 of combustible.
Now, which one is easier to ignite, the flammable or the
combustible? Obviously the flammable. That's why we have a
lower limit.
So here, for example, we have improper fuel storage in a job
office trailer. First of all, it's close to a heat source, not proper
containers stacked improperly, and the amount is not inside a
cabinet, as we just mentioned
here, we have them inside a room, and we have no smoking sign. We
have the fire extinguisher. We have a fire rated door, and we
have all signs of warning on that on that door,
no more than 1100 gallons may be stored in any one pile or area of
combustible or flammable liquids. Piles must be separated by five
foot clearance again to allow for access between these piles, to
prevent the spread of that fire, piles must not be closer than 20
feet to any building again to allow for ease of a safety zone or
access zone between the building and the storage area for these
Flammable and combustible liquids.
Storage area must be guarded,
must be graded, to divert spills away from buildings or other
exposures, so again, to allow for the natural flow of these liquids
away from the building or surrounded by a curb or earth dike
at least 12 inches high, again, to prevent the spread of the leakage
of that combustible or flammable liquid, storage areas must be,
must be kept, must keep, must be kept free of weeds, debris and
other combustibles. There's a missing B here, but anyway,
storage areas must be kept free of weeds, debris and other
combustibles that can help with the ignition.
Storage areas in buildings must have a 20 B fire extinguisher, so
Grade B at least
outside the room, but not more than two.
Feet from the door. Again, for ease of access, outside storage
areas must have a 20 B fire extinguisher, not less than 25
feet nor more than 75 feet away from the area. You don't want to
keep it too close, and you don't want to keep it too far away from
the area as well.
When transferring liquids from one container to another, the
containers must be electrically bonded to prevent any sparks that
might allow for ignition. Equipment must be shut off during
refueling. So if you're going to fuel a a any piece of equipment,
whether portable or heavy piece of equipment, it must be shut off
during that refueling. Flammable liquids must only be used when at
least 50 feet away from open flames and other sources of
ignition. So if you're going to do that refueling again, you have to
be away at least 50 feet from an open flame or other source of
English
service and fueling areas must have at least a 20 BC extinguisher
within 75 feet of pump. So you're going to see that, for example, in
gas stations, area around tank must have proper berm or drainage
to allow for the fluid to drain away from the equipment tank to be
labeled, identifying contents and hazards, no smoking or open flames
and fueling areas, these are all areas where there could be some
violations that can cause fires. Here, for example, we have a large
fuel tank with no proper berm, no signage, or no fire extinguisher.
So that's a big,
big problem. This one here has a berm surrounding it. It has a fire
extinguisher. It has the sign, danger, no smoking. So this is the
proper construction of that tank.
And work liquefied petroleum gas or LPG, storage inside buildings
is prohibited, so you cannot store it. You should not store it inside
buildings, because it can explode. Storage outside of buildings, it
has to be done according to the following table here, depending on
the quantity, how far from the building it should be. So if it's
500 pounds or less, it can be very close to the building. Distance in
feet, no distance, 501 to 6000 pounds, at least 10 feet. 6001
pounds to 10,000 pounds at least 20 feet. And over 10,000 pounds at
least 25 feet away from the building.
So here, for example, we have a proper storage outside of the
building with a proper clearing space. This is, this is a
temporary storage, by the way. It's not a permanent building, and
it has the all the warnings outside so, and it's properly
locked to prevent any inadvertent use of these tanks
for temporary heating devices if we're working in a cold weather,
we need to create a nice work environment for the employees. So
we're going to provide space heaters or heating devices so
fresh air must be supplied in adequate amounts to maintain the
health and safety of employees, because many of these heating
devices have used gas or combustible fuels, and the fumes
from these fuels may be toxic, so you want to have renewed fresh air
in The area. Flammable liquid fired heaters are to be equipped
with the fuel shut off control to stop fuel in the event of flame
failure. If the flame is extinguished and the fuel keeps on
being emitted, then can that can cause a risk of asphyxiation
when heaters are used in confined spaces, sufficient ventilation
must be provided, again, because of these fumes and gasses, if
you're going to use solid fuel salamanders, they are prohibited
in buildings and on scaffolds. This is an example of a solid fuel
Salamander. These are not allowed inside buildings or on scaffolds.
Heat is not suitable for use on wood floors, must stress on
suitable heat insulating material. The material must extend beyond
the heater, two feet or more in all directions to create a source
of insulation between the heater, the heater and the wood floor,
which is flammable by itself.
When heaters are used near tarps, Canvas or similar coverings, they
must be located at least 10 feet from the coverings, because all of
these coverings can ignite. So you want to avoid that. Coverings must
be securely fastened to prevent ignition due to.
Wind, so that the flapping of the tarp or the Canvas can get it
closer than the 10 feet. So you want to secure them in place.
If we look at this picture, we're going to find several violations.
First of all, improper gas cans canisters. These are okay, but
these ones are not a heat source and so on, and they're not
properly stored. So that's a big violation here,
another violation here, we have a coverall stored on top of gas
tank. So this is flammable. We have here curtains, it seems like
curtains or something like that, that probably could also be
flammable. So that's not and some other clothing here. So that's not
the proper storage.
Welding fires one of the most frequent causes of construction
fires is the use of welding or cutting torches. The issue is that
there's going to be some residual heat. Even after you're done with
the welding, the method itself might still be hot. It's
imperative that sparks not be allowed to fall on combustible
materials. That's sparks are one source of the ignition. Use fire
retarder tarps or blankets when combustibles cannot be removed.
And here we're gonna need we're gonna talk about a hot work
permit, which is a permit that's needed for certain kinds of work,
although not required. Many companies require hot work permit
for any operation using flames or producing sparks, requires
management authorization before hot work may commence, and the
permit should include inspecting and isolating combustible
materials and establishing a fire watch. Would have gone to talk
about the fire watch on the next slide. Basically a fire watch is a
is the use of a standby employee equipped with a fire extinguisher,
whose sole job is to monitor for sparks or flames. So they're not
doing anything other than watching for the flame spread or for
sparks. This employee should remain in the area for at least 30
minutes after hot work is complete, to continue monitoring,
especially as I said, in case of welding, the metal itself is still
going to be red hot even after you stop applying the welding material
itself to it. So you're going to keep a watch for another 30
minutes, just to make sure nothing comes in touch with that hot
surface causing it to ignite that material.
I for open fires. The best practice is not to allow open
fires on the job. Some state and county laws prohibit burning
without a permit. So again, to minimize the possibility of
spreading fire.
So that's basically our presentation about fire fire
protection, fire protection devices, their availability, and
so on and so forth. So here are some questions that we need to
know the answers to. What are the four steps used to
for to using a fire extinguisher? Remember the acronym pass P, A, S,
S, so that's the answer to the first question. P is
point,
and then remove the pin. A is aim, S is squeeze, and the other s is
swipe across the base of the flame.
What type fires does a BC extinguisher protect against it's
a BC, so it protects against B and C, and in this case, it's going to
be electrical and fuel, fuel is B and electrical is C.
What should you do before refueling equipment? If you're
going to refuel an equipment for use on a construction site, what
should you do before that? Of course, it's going to be shutting
off that equipment. How many fire extinguishers are required in a
building under construction? We talked about different methods of
calculation. One of them is every
3000 square feet, or at least one per floor, and the access should
not be more than 100 feet in any direction for you to be able to
access that fire safety. So this is our presentation today about
fire safety. I hope you have understood the material and please
stay safe. Thank you. Bye.