With the recent Hot Work fire in KS at a beef processing plant, I was looking for my posting regarding the 2011 NFPA Loss Report(s) for refrigeration facilities and realized it had not made the move over to the new website. So here it is again. Some really good loss data in here(albeit it is now 8 years old) to share with Management so they can see the impact poor safety performance has on their business. For example: (emphasis by me)
Date: July
Time: 3:00 a.m.
Dollar Loss: $5,500,000
Property Characteristics and Operating Status:
This cold storage building was used to store peanuts. It was one-story high and had a ground-floor area of 43,000 square feet. It was predominately of ordinary construction, although the entire structure contained various types of construction. The building was closed for the night.
Fire Protection Systems:
The building had no automatic fire detection equipment. At the time of the fire, the sprinkler system was being removed without fire department notification or approval.
Fire Development:
The fire began in the attic, where a cutting torch used to remove sprinkler piping in the cold storage room ignited combustible ceiling material. Workers hadn’t checked the area after cutting operations ended for the day.
A passing police officer reported the fire, which spread through the attic and into storage rooms.
Contributing Factors:
A 12-hour delay transpired between ignition and detection.
PLEASE NOTE: this NFPA report also contains the detailed investigation report of the 1984 Shreveport, LA Firefighter fatality from a NH3 explosion, as well as the 1983 Houston ice cream plant explosion. These reports are the FACTS and can help many understand what really happened in these NH3 explosions. SAFTENG members can log in to download this report.