Have enough firefighting supplies on hand?

This pandemic has brought a temporary halt to visitors, suppliers, consultants, etc. in our workplaces. This absence has provided us with the opportune time to perform safety audits. One part of every safety audit is the inspection of fire fighting supplies (e.g., extinguishers and extinguishing agents) on the premises. All too often this important aspect is not fully considered. Many companies only confirm that they meet the pertinent fire regulations and fail to ask a simple question.

Do we have enough fire extinguishing supplies on hand?

"NO" is the answer for many aluminium plants. In response plants unintentionally place their workers in harms way when a fire breaks out. This mistake is rooted in the assumption that local fire departments have enough fire fighting supplies to handle any incident in an aluminum plant. That assumption is false. Time and time again small fires break out that should be easily extinguished. But the aluminium plant did not have enough firefighting supplies (e.g., fire extinguishers, extinguishing agents) they call for assistance, and they are surprised when the responding fire truck has one class d fire extinguisher on it.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog posted numerous incidents on this topic. Most recently a small fire ignited on top of a furnace in an European aluminium plant (incident can be found here). The aluminium plant used what limited supplies they had to extinguish the fire. When they ran out and the fire still burned they called for assistance. They assumed (albeit incorrectly) the fire department had enough fire extinguishers. They learned that no fire truck carries enough supplies to handle a class d fire in an aluminium plant. In response more and more fire departments were called to bring their class d fire extinguishers. Eventually, the fire was extinguished. Could we assume if the aluminium plant had enough firefighting supplies on hand for the responding fire fighters to use the fire would have been extinguished quicker? Yes, that is a reasonable assumption. This is the exact reason why many older plants have a large stock of fire fighting supplies on hand if needed. They have learned over decades that the local fire departments do not have enough supplies on hand to fight a fire in an aluminium plant.

What about newer plants?

Newer plants are at a disadvantage because few think far enough ahead on what or how their personnel will respond to a fire at their workplace. This topic is my number one observation when I visit greenfield plants.

Fire Breaks Out - Do Not Wait - Call Local Fire Department.

The other problem I have observed countless times is the reluctance of aluminium plant personnel to immediately call for help. There have been numerous incidents where personnel delayed in calling for help resulted in workers being injured and killed. Always call for help when a fire breaks out. DO NOT WAIT.

In conclusion, please ask your personnel the simple question "Do we have enough fire fighting supplies on hand?" If the answer is no, explore with your personnel on getting enough fire fighting supplies in stock and storing them nearby the machinery most likely to catch fire. Because in our industry it is not if a fire breaks out, but when a fire breaks out. Will your workplace be ready?