october 2024

August2024

Inside the October Issue

 

 

Prep Ahead for Combustible
Dust Fire Response

Every year, a number of emergency responders are injured, and sometimes killed, during emergency operations in facilities where combustible dusts exist. In some cases, responders have inadequate information or training on the explosible characteristics of combustible dust and/or the conditions present in the facility, which may have increased the challenge of handling incidents safely and effectively.

Many emergency response agencies routinely perform pre-incident surveys at facilities with special hazards. This allows responders, regardless of the size of the jurisdiction, to learn about the hazards, proper methods to handle emergencies, and the features in place to assist them (for example, water supplies, suppression systems, confined spaces, egress points). Emergency responders should treat combustible dust as a special hazard.

A facility may produce, collect, or store dusts and/or dust-producing materials as its main operation or as an incidental matter. In either case, emergency responders need to know about combustible dust hazards in advance. This helps them plan appropriate actions and avoid creating additional hazards to themselves or occupants. All locations where combustible dust is used (including process or conveying equipment), produced (for example, cutting or grinding equipment), or stored (including all vessels, containers, or collectors) should be identified in the survey. Facilities can have a variety of materials, operations, and procedures. During the pre-incident survey, it is important to collect facility-specific information on all of these aspects. This will make it possible to tailor emergency operations to a particular facility.

The pre-incident survey team should walk through the entire facility and consider each process, possibly by functional area, to identify the operations or components that generate, or could generate, enough dust to create a flash fire or explosion hazard. The team should consider all normal and potential abnormal (upset) conditions to ensure that the pre-incident survey is as comprehensive as possible. Consider organizing the information by facility areas or process areas for clarity.

Combustible dust can accumulate on any upward-facing surface. Fine dusts can even cling to vertical surfaces. A large amount of combustible dust often accumulates overhead, on structural components or other surfaces where it is hard to notice or clean. Historically, these dust accumulations are associated with cascading secondary explosions that lead to major or total facility loss. The team must consider all spaces—both exposed and hidden and at any elevation— in the pre-incident survey.

Other sources of information are the jurisdiction’s building construction and fire code officials. In many cases the fire official is within the fire department, but this is not always the case. State and local fire codes often require permits for hazardous materials. In some cases, operational permits may be specifically required for combustible dust-producing operations. Such permits can serve as triggers for the pre-incident survey and can also contain specific facility information. Full story »

 

 

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