Industrial Fire Prevention

From our Friends at:  Powermag  Minimizing Fire and Explosion Hazards in Dusty Systems Understanding the properties of bulk materials and how they interact with environmental factors is vital to safe operations, but having an honest conversation about the hazards, so risks can be properly addressed, could be the most important step toward reducing fire and explosion threats. It should come as no surprise that fires and explosions cost companies billions of dollars each year. Lost productivity, the cost of repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed equipment, settling lawsuits originating from employee injuries or deaths—it all contributes to the total. Industrial operations are particularly familiar with the dangers of explosions (Figure 1), especially those that handle materials such as grain, sulfur, oil and gas, biomass, and wood pellets. Two recent incidents serve as sobering reminders of the significant financial and human costs associated with industrial explosions. 1. ...

 From our Friends at: Canadian Biomass Magazine June 29, 2017 By Erin Rayner / VETS Group June 29, 2017 - In the last few years we’ve hosted introductory dust collection courses across Western Canada for dust producing facilities. Regardless of size of the facility or dust particulate produced there are a few key things to look for when evaluating whether or not your system is a fire or explosion waiting to happen. Dust collector in a millwork shop after a fire. 1. To spiral or not to spiral? That is the question On our travels we’ve seen and heard a lot about spiral pipe used in dust abatement systems. The question always comes up: is spiral duct a safe option for dust abatement systems? And the answer, if you’re dealing with a combustible dust such as wood dust, is NO, spiral duct is not an NFPA approved option. The next question is usually “Why?” A couple of reasons: The seam in spiral duct generates more friction and increases the risk for static discharge (source of ignition)....

From our friends at: Occupational Health and Safety Preventing the Five Major Causes of Industrial Fires and Explosions Feb 07, 2017 By: Stephen Watkins, Applications Engineer Industrial fires and explosions cost companies and governments billions of dollars every year, not to mention the loss of life, which can’t be described in monetary terms. According to the most recent fire statistics from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an average of 37,000 fires occur at industrial and manufacturing properties every year. These incidents result in 18 civilian deaths, 279 civilian injuries, and $1 billion in direct property damage. 1 These disasters happen for many reasons, often because managers and employees aren’t aware of the risks that surround them at work every day. When dealing with the risk of fires and explosions, it’s important to understand the most common causes. Combustible Dus t Often overlooked, and highly deadly, combustible dust is a major cause of fire in food ...

From: WorkSafeBC   Combustible wood dust refers to the fine, dry wood particles that are by-product of milling wood. This video explains why it is such a hazard in sawmills and wood shops and also shows how there is a high increase of risk of fire and explosion which causes catastrophic injuries, loss of life and properties. Fortunately, we can prevent these occurrence with the use of Fire detection and prevention systems such as the Grecon fire detection and extinguishing system .

 From our Friends at: Occupational Health and Safety Arresting Fugitive Dusts The use of vacuum conveyors to transfer materials between processes improves indoor air quality while increasing efficiency and the bottom line.   By Doan Pendleton Oct 01, 2021 Most often when hearing the term fugitive dust, one thinks of combustible fugitive dust. However, fugitive dust is simply a particulate matter that becomes entrained in ambient air (usually by wind or human interaction). Respirable dust particles are invisible to the naked eye and universally considered to be 10 microns or less in size. Of all the harmful respirable dusts, silica gets the most attention, perhaps because it is present in so many products and nearly all industries, and it can lead to incurable lung disease and death. Silica is an anti-caking agent in food, pharmaceutical and supplement products in metal powders, paint and coatings formulations and in a host of other materials. Respirable dust hazards in these indus...

From our Friends at: Canadian Biomass Magazine September 28, 2021 Bucket elevator Let’s say you are a project engineer for a pet food production facility. You’ve recently hired a consultant to conduct a dust hazard analysis (DHA), according to NFPA 61,  Standard for the Prevention of Fires and Dust Explosions in Agricultural and Food Processing Facilities,  rev. 2020 (NFPA 61) & NFPA 652,  Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust,  rev.2019 (NFPA 652). You are now tasked with the responsibility of implementing several DHA recommendations, one of which is to implement explosion protection on your plant’s bucket elevators in compliance with the NFPA standards. Bucket elevators provide you a means to transport large volumes of product via belt/chain efficiently and to higher elevations than typically practical with pneumatic or open belt conveying. These systems in your plant are essential, and transport everything from whole grains to processed additives an...