UNDERSTANDING THE NEED: Fire Protection Engineering vs. Fire Risk Management

“The Wise Old Fire Protection Engineer (WOFPE) motioned his protégé, the Brash Young Fire Protection Engineer (BYFPE), into his office and pointed toward a chair. “Let’s chat about your report on the Colossal Corporation’s industrial compressor assembly plant you surveyed a couple of weeks ago as part of the due diligence investigation for our client that is contemplating the purchase of Colossal.”

Moving cautiously and with some trepidation, the BYFPE eased into a chair across from the WOFPE and said, “OK, what did I do wrong?”

“Don’t worry, you did nothing wrong,” said the WOFPE with a smile and a note of assurance. “You’ve developed into a very technically adept fire protection engineer. You’ve got a good grasp of the fire safety codes and standards we use daily, and I feel confident sending you into almost any type of facility or situation.”

The WOFPE continued, “I think it’s now time that we start expanding the breadth of your fire protection knowledge to include not only the technical details of fire protection but also an understanding of the fire risk management concepts that routinely affect our work.”

“What do you mean by fire risk management concepts?” asked the BYFPE.

The WOFPE smiled and answered, “Without getting too far into the weeds, let’s just say that Fire Risk Management is getting the biggest bang for the fire protection bucks we have available for a specific situation. In its simplest form, it’s how to allocate the available resources to best meet a facility’s site-specific fire protection and fire safety needs. It’s much more than understanding and quoting what the codes and standards say.”?

The WOFPE continued, “Many people can cite the black and white of the codes, but the successful fire protection practitioner has the knowledge, skills, and judgment to mold the black-and-white code requirements to the practical needs of a world of gray.”

“I think I need a little more information to understand what you are saying,” responded the BYFPE uncomprehendingly.??

“That’s why I selected your Colossal Corporation compressor assembly plant report. You examined it and reported on it from a technical fire protection standpoint. Now we are going to view it through the lens of fire risk management,” explained the WOFPE. He handed the BYFPE his report on Colossal Corporation’s facility. “Using your report and the diagrams and photos in it, describe the facility to me and explain the operations and hazards in the building.”

The BYFPE began timidly, “Well, the building is used for assembling enormous compressors for the oil and gas industry. Some of these machines are as big as a house.” Then, gaining confidence, the BYFPE continued, “The parts are cast and machined at other facilities. They are then shipped here for final assembly.”

“Describe the building,” said the WOFPE. “What’s its size and construction?”

The BYFPE examined a floor plan in the report and answered, “The building, constructed in 1930, is about 500 feet long, 120 feet wide, and it’s a single story with a clear height of 95 feet from the floor to the underside of the roof deck. Ten-foot-deep steel trusses at the roof support four-inch thick wood planks with a composite built-up roof over the wood planks. The walls are brick more than a foot thick.”

“OK and based on the steel truss supported wood plank roof sitting on the masonry walls, you classified the construction as masonry plank on steel or Type III per the building code. So that means the overall building construction is considered combustible. So that’s what you based your sprinkler recommendation on, correct?” asked the WOFPE.?

“That’s correct,” agreed the BYFPE.

Now tell me about the hazards in the building,” said the WOFPE. “What is in the building? What do they do in the building? What’s the combustible loading? What’s going to burn?”

The BYFPE began describing operations in the building. “The north half of the building has the large, machined castings sitting on steel carriers used for transport. Two large bridge cranes traveling on floor rails lift the castings and move them to the assembly area at the south end of the building.”

Looking at photos of the operation, the WOFPE inquired, “What about wood crating materials or wood pallets? Do they use any of those?”

“No,” answered the BYFPE. “There are no wood pallets or wood crating. The castings are so large and heavy they would crush wood, so Colossus uses steel carriers like giant heavy-duty pallets to lift the casting onto or off a truck or rail car.”

“What about paints, lubricants, and other liquids?” asked the WOFPE. Your report doesn’t mention anything about flammable or combustible liquids. Do they use any?”

“There were two small flammable liquid cabinets in the maintenance crib containing minimal quantities of lubricants and oils. Most are in one-quart and one-gallon cans. There were probably less than twenty gallons in the entire building,” answered the BYFPE.?

“What other combustibles are there? Any other wood, cardboard cartons, boxes, trash, anything like that?” asked the WOFPE.

“Other than a some small boxes with bolts, washers, and other hardware, there were no other combustibles in the building. You could probably sweep up all the combustibles in the building into a pile and still wouldn’t have enough to have a good campfire,” explained the BYFPE.

“So there are no combustibles inside the building, and the operations don’t pose any particular fire hazards. There’s no painting or other flammable liquid use, and the combustible loading is next to zero, correct?” asked the WOFPE.

“Correct,” agreed the BYFPE.

“The building and its operations haven’t changed since its original construction, so the Building Code doesn’t require the provision of sprinklers, but you recommended automatic sprinkler protection at the roof based on the combustible construction of the roof. Is that correct?” asked the BYFPE.

“Correct,” agreed the BYFPE. “It’s just good practice to provide sprinklers, and I thought the potential new owners should know that. Built today, the building would require sprinklers because of the wood plank roof deck.”

“Yes, it would,” agreed the WOFPE. “That’s the black and white ‘Code’ answer. Now, let’s look at the situation from a ‘Fire Risk Management’ standpoint.”

The WOFPE turned to a wide-angle photo showing most of the interior of the building up to the roof. Then continued, “You agreed the building, except for the four-inch thick wood roof planks, is essentially void of combustibles. So, what’s going to burn in this building?”

The BYFPE paused and then offered, “I guess they could have a fire involving the materials they have in the flammable liquid storage cabinets. Or a small fire involving a couple of boxes of nuts, bolts, and washers.”

“So, the roof level sprinklers you recommended would protect from those events?” posited the WOFPE.

“No, roof-level sprinklers wouldn’t be much help in those cases,” stated the BYFPE. “Even if we piled everything in the building that is combustible into a single pile and set it ablaze, we wouldn’t have sufficient energy to fuse a sprinkler at the roof 95 feet above the floor.”

“I see,” said the WOFPE nodding his head in agreement. Then with a perplexed look, he asked, “Well, if the sprinklers aren’t going to do us any good for a fire in the building, why would we install them in this situation?”

With pursed lips, the BYFPE paused to formulate an answer before offering, “Well, lightning could strike the roof and start a fire involving the composite built-up roof and wood planks.”

“So, sprinklers installed inside the building a foot below the roof deck will protect the building from a roof fire ignited by a lightning strike?” suggested the WOFPE with a note of inquiring sarcasm.

The BYFPE sat looking at the photo momentarily before the WOFPE broke the uncomfortable silence with, “You did a thorough job. Your report details the ‘Code’ requirements for the situation. The potential buyer of the facility, our client, needs to have the information you provided. However, your report only explains some of what they need to know.”

“What information do you think I’m failing to provide the client?” questioned the BYFPE.

The WOFPE responded, “You gave them the ‘Code’ answer by recommending the installation of automatic sprinklers based on the construction of the building. However, you must also provide them with the ‘Fire Risk Management’ answer based on real-world conditions.”

“What do you mean by that?” probed the BYFPE.

The WOFPE smiled wryly and answered, “It can be confusing. As fire protection engineers, we must be well-versed in using a multitude of codes, standards, recommended practices, and other fire safety references as tools to conduct our analysis. We deal with building codes, NFPA codes and standards, and fire testing standards. If we work for a large, national company, we may have to apply their corporate fire protection standards. If we are doing an evaluation for an insurance company, we may have to consult and apply their underwriting guidelines. However, it’s important to understand that we use these references to determine code compliance. We are using them to conduct an overall analysis of the fire protection for the facility.”

The WOFPE continued, “The common theme among all these references is that they are all published in black and white. They have neat, precise categories, classifications, charts, and tables. Unfortunately, we must apply all these black-and-white documents in a world colored in multiple shades of gray. Many of the situations we deal with daily do not fit into the nice, neat categories and classifications detailed in these documents. As a result, we must routinely use our site-specific analyses, calculations, and engineering judgment to determine the best ‘Fire Risk Management’ solutions that meet the intent of the applicable code or standard and provide the biggest bang for the buck to provide effective facility fire protection.”?

“So, my report needs to include what?” questioned the BYFPE.

“In addition to the code analysis that you already included,” explained the WOFPE, “You should include the discussion we just had about the efficacy of installing sprinklers in the building. While you’ll never find a stronger advocate for sprinklers than me, you should explain that while we recommend sprinklers and the building codes probably require them for a new building of this type, absent any changes in the occupancy, use, and operations in the building, retrofitting it with automatic sprinkler protection would be an expensive proposition that in this particular case, yields little benefit. You don’t want to tell them sprinklers are useless, but you need to clarify that they would be of little benefit under the current circumstances. However, a change in the use of the building, the processes, operations, or the combustible loading requires a revised analysis concerning the need for automatic sprinklers.”

The WOFPE continued, “In the future, keep in mind that our clients are hiring us for our knowledge and judgment, not just our ability to determine compliance with a code or standard. Anyone with a code book and a checklist can determine code compliance. Our clients want to know what we think their best course of action is to meet their fire protection AND fire risk management goals and objectives. The client makes the final decision, but we must ensure they have all the information necessary to make a fully informed decision.”

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This is an example of the type of conversations between the Wise Old Fire Protection Engineer (WOFPE) and his young protégé, the Brash Young Fire Protection Engineer (BYFPE), found throughout?Industrial Fire Control Concepts?and collected in the new?51 Conversations with the Wise Old Fire Protection Engineer?by Jeffrey Moore, PE, FSFPE.?

51 Conversations with the Wise Old Fire Protection Engineer?contains the forty-six conversations between the WOFPE and the BYFPE included in?Industrial Fire Control Concepts?and?five additional discussions not used in the book. Both books are available on Amazon. The conversations between the WOFPE and the BYFPE provide background information and context behind many common questions and misconceptions and the methods used to make site-specific fire risk management decisions.

Industrial Fire Control Concepts?is a fire risk management course in a book. Originally written as the textbook for the one-week Industrial Fire Protection Course taught for decades by Industrial Risk Insurers, this 540-page third edition, updated to reflect current technology and fire protection practice, maintains the original purpose of serving as a means of providing not only technical information but also explaining the fire protection decision-making process for those responsible for facility fire protection and fire risk management. The book uses practical examples, extensive photos, and color graphics to explain the “hows” and “whys” behind an effective site-specific fire protection and fire control program.?

Electronic versions of both books are also available in the iTunes store for Apple Books. Email?[email protected]?for additional information or to obtain a fifty-page sample of?Industrial Fire Control Concepts.