FIRE PREVENTION PLAN

FIRE PREVENTION PLAN 1

FIRE PREVENTION PLAN OSHA s Fire Prevention Plan regulation, found at 29 CFR 1910.38(b) and 29 CFR 1926.24, requires Northern Clearing, Inc. to have a written fire prevention plan (FPP). This plan applies to all operations in our company where employees may encounter a fire. It is broken into two (2) areas: one for the General Offices and facilities, and one for the off-site work at customer s facilities. This FPP is in place at Northern Clearing, Inc. to control and reduce the possibility of fire and to specify the type of equipment to use in case of fire. This plan lists the following information: Major workplace fire hazards and their proper handling and storage procedures. Potential ignition sources for fires and their control procedures. The type of fire protection equipment or systems, which can control a fire involving them. Regular job titles of personnel responsible for maintenance of equipment and systems installed to prevent or control ignition of fires and for control of fuel source hazards. Under this plan, Northern Clearing, Inc. employees will be informed of the plan s purpose, preferred means of reporting fires and other emergencies, types of evacuations to be used in various emergency situations, and the alarm system. The plan is closely tied to our emergency action plan where procedures are described for emergency escape procedures and route assignments, procedures to account for all employees after emergency evacuation has been completed, rescue and medical duties for those employees who perform them. Please see the emergency action plan, where applicable, for this information. The Health and Safety Director is the program coordinator, acting as the representative of the Corporation, who has overall responsibility for the plan. Health and Safety Director, working in conjunction with appropriate Supervisors will review and update the plan as necessary. Copies of this plan may be obtained from The Health and Safety Director at the Corporate Headquarters. The FPP communicates to employees, policies and procedures to follow when fires erupt. This written plan is available, upon request, to employees, their designated representatives, and any OSHA officials who ask to see it. If after reading this program, you find that improvements can be made, please contact the Health and Safety Director. Northern Clearing, Inc. encourages all suggestions because we are committed to the success of our emergency action plan. We strive for clear understanding, safe behavior, and involvement in the program from every level of the company. 2

A. OFFICES AND SHOP FACILITIES At Northern Clearing, Inc. Offices and Headquarters, the Safety Superintendent is responsible for the following activities. He must: 1. Develop a written fire prevention plan for regular and after-hours work conditions. 2. Determine ways to notify the local fire or police departments, in the event of a fire affecting the offices, such as dialing 9-1-1 from any telephone. 3. Integrate the fire prevention plan with the existing general emergency plan. 4. Distribute procedures for reporting a fire, the location of fire exits, and evacuation routes to each employee, which is done in the new employee orientation program. 5. Conduct drills to acquaint the employees with fire procedures, and to judge their effectiveness. The set numbers of fire drills required per year are two. 6. Satisfy all local fire codes and regulations as specified. 7. Train designated employees in the use of fire extinguishers and the application of medical first-aid techniques. 8. Keep key management personnel home telephone numbers in a safe place in the office for immediate use in the event of a fire. Distribute a copy of the list to key persons to be retained in their homes for use in communicating a fire occurring during non-work hours. 9. Decide to remain in or evacuate the workplace in the event of a fire. 10. If evacuation is deemed necessary, the Human Resources Director ensures that: All employees are notified and a head count is taken to confirm total evacuation of all employees When practical, equipment is placed and locked in storage rooms or desks for protection, including security for employee records and property Provide Training, Detailed Evacuation Plans, Etc. It is the intent of this company to assure that hazardous accumulations of combustible waste materials are controlled so that a fast developing fire, rapid spread of toxic smoke, or an explosion will not occur. Employees are to be made aware of the hazardous properties of materials in their workplaces, and the degree of hazard each poses. SPECIFIC FIRE HAZARDS AT OUR OFFICE/SHOP LOCATIONS Work Area Warehouse Offices Carpenter Shop Mechanic Shop Fire Hazard Fuels, welding gases, combustibles and flammables, Paints, adhesives Combustibles paper, etc. Combustibles Hydraulic Fluids, Solvents, Paints 3

Fire prevention measures must be developed for all fire hazards found. Once employees are made aware of the fire hazards in their work areas, they must be trained in the fire prevention measures developed and use them in the course of their work. For example, oil soaked rags must be treated differently than general paper trash in office areas. In addition, large accumulations of waste paper or corrugated boxes, etc., can pose a significant fire hazard. Accumulations of materials that can cause large fires or generate dense smoke that are easily ignited or may start from spontaneous combustion are the types of materials with which this fire prevention plan is concerned. Matches may easily ignite such combustible materials, welder s sparks, cigarettes and similar low-level energy ignition sources. It is the intent of this company to prevent such accumulation of materials. FLAMMABLE/COMBUSTIBLE MATERIAL WORK AREA FIRE PREVENTION STEPS HOUSEKEEPING AUDITS Certain equipment is often installed in workplaces to control heat sources or to detect fuel leaks. An example is a temperature limit switch often found on heating equipment. There may be similar switches for high temperature dip tanks, or flame failure and flashback arrester devices on torches, furnaces and similar heat producing equipment. If these devices are not properly maintained or if they become inoperative, a definite fire hazard exists. Again employees and supervisors should be aware of the specific type of control devices on equipment involved with combustible materials in the workplace and should make sure, through periodic inspection or testing, that these controls are operable. Manufacturer s recommendations should be followed to assure proper maintenance procedures. The Shop/Equipment Superintendents are responsible for ensuring maintenance is performed on this equipment. Some of the potential hazardous material/equipment at our location includes: heaters, rags, combustibles, flammables, chemicals, paint, and solvents. FIRE PROTECTION EQUIPMENT Fire protection equipment, selected and purchased by Northern Clearing, Inc. includes fire extinguishers to protect form the various types of fire hazards. These are located at strategic locations throughout the office and shop areas. Please refer to the attached facility map. Our company controls accumulations of flammable and combustible waste materials and residues so that they do not contribute to a fire. Ensuring proper storage and disposal of combustible and flammable materials does this. Portable Fire Extinguisher regardless of use or placement shall be checked/inspected on a monthly basis utilizing the NCI equipment inspection form; these monthly inspection forms shall be kept in the appropriate equipment designated files and maintained at corporate headquarters. In addition to the monthly check, an annual maintenance check shall be performed. 4

FIRE PREVENTION PLAN At the time of a fire, employees should know what type of evacuation is necessary and what their role is in carrying out the plan. In cases where the fire is large, total and immediate evacuation of all employees is necessary. In smaller fires, a partial evacuation of nonessential employees with a delayed evacuation of others may be necessary for continued facility operation. We must be sure that employees know what is expected of them during a fire to assure their safety. Two (2) fire drills are conducted each year. A better method of communicating the fire prevention plan is to give all employees a thorough briefing and demonstration. The Safety Superintendent has all managers and supervisors present the plan to their personnel in small meetings. TRAINING Training, conducted on initial assignment, includes: What to do if an employee discovers a fire When a fire is detected, go to the nearest telephone and call for help. For field locations, all Supervisors are equipped with cellular phones and/or Company Radio to summon help and notify appropriate personnel How to recognize fire exits Evacuation routes Assisting employees with disabilities Measures to contain fire (e.g., closing office doors, windows, etc. in immediate vicinity) Head count procedures Return to building after the all-clear signal Employees that are expected to fight incipient fires will be trained initially and annually on the use of fire extinguishers; this will also include hands-on fire extinguisher practice If the Health and Safety Director or the appropriate Supervisor has reason to believe an employee does not have the understanding required, the employee must be retrained. The Safety Superintendent certifies in writing that the employee has received and understands the fire prevention plan training. Because failure to comply with company policy concerning fire prevention can result in OSHA citations and fines as well as employee injury, an employee who does not comply with this program will be disciplined. B. FIELD LOCATIONS Due to the possibility of fires at remote field location, fire watches are required when hot work activities such as welding, cutting, grinding, etc. are being conducted. They are required to have a minimum 30 pound BC fire extinguisher with them, and must attempt to remove combustibles and flammables from the area prior to commencing heatproducing activities. In addition, mobile equipment must also have portable fire extinguishers on the vehicle and/or in the cab. 5

At certain customer locations, such as chemical plants or refineries or working on pipelines, hot work permits may be required before starting work. The site-specific requirements must be followed. In addition, prior to start-up, specific procedures developed by the customer s site that address alarms, evacuation routes, process safety, HazCom, and so forth must be reviewed with all employees and thorough understanding of these procedures should be obtained. Fire protection systems and methods, including emergency phone numbers, should be discussed and readily available. As with all of Northern Clearing, Inc. programs, our employees have the most important role in the success of the program. The items required by this role are: 1. Training: Attend the fire prevention training sessions, including the fire watch training program. The fire watch training program will address methods of extinguishing fires, sounding alarms, use of welding equipment, removal or guarding of fire hazards to prevent fires. 2. Awareness of any potential fire hazards in the work area and following the proper fire prevention procedures, 3. Becoming familiar with any applicable emergency procedures and evacuation procedures, 4. Practicing good housekeeping procedures HAZARD RECOGNITION FIRE WATCH Fire watch personnel, along with Superintendents, Mechanics, and Foreman, are trained to recognize potential fire hazards, including the equipment used and the potential for fire and explosion hazards. Fire watch personnel may be necessary at certain locations and/or hazards. If removing fuel sources or guarding cannot make the situation safe, then the work cannot proceed. The areas where fire hazards may exist include: 1. Combustible materials closer than 35 feet to the operation 2. Easily ignited combustibles more than 35 feet from the operation 3. Wall or floor openings within 35 feet radius of exposed combustible materials 4. Combustible materials adjacent to the opposite wall of metal partitions, ceilings or roofs. 5. Flammable gases, liquids and vapors GENERAL DUTIES FIRE WATCH A fire watch is a properly (i.e., initially and annually) trained employee who is stationed at all brush burn sites, welding sites, and re-fueling sites; in order to provide a first line of defense against fires. Prior to commencing of hot work, the assigned fire watch, along with the welder and the immediate supervisor will inspect the area for hazards and eliminate or guard the potential hazards. Appendix A can be used for this purpose. Written hot work permits may be required at visiting locations and details of precautions, how they are to be issued, and by whom must be determined prior to commencement of activities. Additional information can be found in the Welding/Cutting/Hot Work Chapter of this Manual. 6

Selection of the proper fire extinguisher is based on the type of hazards present. The fire hazard classifications and fire extinguisher types are located in Appendix B. To prevent fires, the fire watch must be maintained at least thirty (30) minutes after the hot work has been completed to insure no flare-ups occur. APPENDIX A FIRE EXTINGUISHER SYSTEMS Portable fire extinguishers have been called First Aid Fire Extinguishers. They contain a limited supply of an extinguishing agent that can be hand carried or moved on wheel carts. While portable extinguishers cannot be used as a substitute for fixed systems, they can provide an initial attack against fires. In order to express the relative value of portable fire extinguishers, the Underwriters Laboratories of the United States of America (i.e., UL) developed a classification system for fires, which has been adopted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). General Rules: 1. Only fire extinguishers meeting recognized standards and approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory should be used. 2. The correct type of fire extinguisher should be provided for each class of fire that may occur in a particular area. 3. The extinguisher should be of sufficient size to afford protection against the hazards in the area it is intended to protect. 4. Fire extinguishers should be mounted where they will be readily accessible for immediate use. 5. Fire extinguishers should be regularly inspected and properly maintained. They should be recharged as required and be suitably marked for their appropriate use. 6. Employees should know the location of extinguishers and fire alarm methods in their areas. They will be trained in the steps to take during emergency. If expected to use fire extinguishers, they will be trained and periodically drilled in the proper, effective use of extinguishers. CLASSES OF FIRES AND EXTINGUISHERS The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has four classifications of fires. They are listed below. CLASS A FIRES Class A fires involve ordinary combustible solids and constitutes the greatest bulk of property destroyed by fire annually. This class of fire is sometimes referred to as surface burning fires. Some examples are wood, paper, clothing, plastics, wax, etc. Water can be used for an extinguishing agent in this class. 7

CLASS B FIRES Class B fires involve gases, greases, flammable and combustible liquids. Some examples are gasoline, kerosene, alcohol, cooking oil, lubricating oils, etc. Carbon dioxide or dry chemical extinguishers can be used. CLASS C FIRES Class C fires involve or are near live electrical equipment. Some examples are transformers, electrical junction boxes, switch boxes, electrical wires, electrical motor, etc. A non-conducting extinguishing method must be used on this type of fire, DO NOT USE WATER! Dry chemicals can be used. CLASS D FIRES Class D fires involve combustible metals, which require special fire tactics and extinguishing agents. Some examples are magnesium, potassium, powdered aluminum, zinc, sodium, titanium, and others. There are special agents for this. FIRE PREVENTION EQUIPMENT Northern Clearing, Inc. provides training for each employee who is required to use fire prevention equipment. Employees shall not use fire prevention equipment without appropriate training. Training, before an individual is assigned responsibility to fight a fire, includes: Types of fires Types of fire prevention equipment Location of fire prevention equipment How to use fire prevention equipment Limitations of fire prevention equipment Proper care and maintenance of assigned fire prevention equipment Other information as necessary Employees must demonstrate an understanding of the training and the ability to use the equipment properly before they are allowed to perform work requiring the use of the equipment. If the Supervisor has reason to believe an employee does not have the understanding or skill required, the employee must be retrained. 8