A recent accident has me explaining the fundamentals of our profession that so many seem to have lost in the past decades.
You have a hazard; DISTANCE yourself from that hazard
If you can not put DISTANCE between you and the hazard, then a BARRIER is necessary
Our Hot Work Programs are a perfect example of this fundamental hazard management approach. The HW job poses a serious hazard to people and property, so since the 1960s NFPA and the 1970s, OSHA has required a 35′ Fire Safety Area be designated and managed. This uses DISTANCE as a PREVENTION tool to keep the sparks/slag of the work from creating a fire.
We also use FIRE WATCHES as a PROTECTION Layer if we have a failure of our PREVENTION layer. The standards also require a key ENGINEERING CONTROL to be in service (if it is present in the HW area) – Sprinkler System.
But when we can not establish a fire safety area (e.g., DISTANCE) then both standards (OSHA and NFPA) require that combustible objects that can NOT be moved be SHIELDED from the sparks/slag with some type of UL/FM approved fire blanket.