Protect your industrial buildings against fire risk

The most frequent accidents that occur on industrial buildings in France according to the ARIA database on technological accidents^[1] are : 

1. Fires
2. Discharge of hazardous materials
3. Explosions

Fires are observed in 60% of technological accidents in France. The socio-economic consequences can be disastrous for your company : matérial damage, loss of production, technical unemployement, uncertainty about the resumption of activity, etc. Although there is nos such thing as zero risk for your company, it is possible to put in place preventive measures. In this article, find out how : 

• Identify the most commom causes of industrial fires
• Implementing a fire risk prevention approach
• Continue production after a fire

1 - Identify the most common causes of industrial fires

3 elements are necessary to start a fire (the fire triangle) : 

• A fuel : a material capable of burning in the presence of an oxidant
  
  
• Solid = paper, cardboard, wood, plastic...
• Liquid = solvent, petrol, varnish, oil...
• Gaseous = methane, butane, propane, acetylene...
  
  
• An oxidiser : a chemical substance that enables the combustion of a fuel (very often oxygen)
• A source of ignition

Many raw materials, packaging or processing aids (machine lubricants, glue cleaning agents, etc.) can burn or give off flammable vapours. Only inorganic materials and compounds (sand, concrete, salts, etc.) cannot burn. You must therefore provide storage areas adapted to your materials, and protect your components and your employees during processing stages that involve an open flame or produce sparks: grinding, welding, oxidising/cutting, etc.

The Eurocodes classify substances according to their fire behaviour (reaction and resistance), especially for building materials. Structural elements must be able to remain stable while people are evacuated.

The fire resistance of materials is assessed in relation to the time the building element performs its function :

• R = load-bearing capacity or strenght
• E = flame-retardant and gas-free
• I = thermal insulation

Carelessness or particular operations on your industrial buildings can also cause a fire to start :

• Cigarette butts
• Overheating (clothing too close to a heater)
• Power surges (too many electrical appliances on a power strip)
• Work
• Maintenance

Make sure your employees and contractors are trained to ensure their own safety and the sustainability of your buildings and equipment.

2- Implementing a fire risk prevention approach

Limiting fire risks is part of an overall approach to prevent industrial risks.

In this case, it consists of :

• Eliminating the causes of tripping (organisation of the supply chain and training of staff and service providers)
• Limiting the human and material consequences by installing an internal detection system and means of fighting

Detecting the risks associated wiht the presence of flammable materials

Risk situations are determined by the presence of the 3 components of the fire triangle: fuel, oxidizer and ignition source.

Determine the risks associated with the presence of combustible products in your premises :

1. What are their physico-chemical characteristics ?
2. What are their storage conditions (quantity, temperature, humidity, etc.) ?
3. In which production stages are they used? Is there a risk of combustion of the product or its vapours ?
4. Can potential malfunctions in your production line affect your products (cooling system stoppage, product leakage, power supply failure, etc.) ?
   
   

Sources of ignition in your storage areas or workshops can be of various origins :

• Thermal (ovens, heating, processes using open flames or hot spots)
• Electrical (power surges, overheating, arcing, etc.)
• Electrostatic (risk of producing sparks)
• Mechanical (friction, impact or failure causing high temperatures or glowing particles)
• Climatic (lightning, sun...)
• Chemical (reactions between several substances)
• Bacteriological (Bacterial fermentation)

The results of the assessment must be included in the Single Document (DU), required by the Labour Code. The DU enables to draw up an action plan specific to your company according to the risks
identified, their frequency of occurrence, the exposure of your staff and your industrial buildings...

Isolate the hazardous areas of your premises

It is difficult to completely eliminate fuels in your industry without affecting the rate of production or the quality of the finished products. However, the national institute of research and security points out
certain risk areas that can be isolated from other premises :

• Storage of finished products
• Storage of chemicals
• Storage of gas cylinders and tanks
• The boiler room
• The room / the waste bins
• The battery charging room

Also pay attention to your electrical installations. When you open or close a circuit, an electric arc can occur. For humans it can cause burns ; for your installations it can cause fires or explosions (the phenomenon tears electrons from the atoms in the air and is accompanied by the projection of metal particles at more than 3,000°C).

Comply with safety standards

By law, establishments with more than 50 people or that handle flammable materials must have an audible alarm. If your site is made up of several isolated industrial buildings, each one must be able to
trigger the general alarm separately. The alarm signal, distinct from the other alarms used in your company, must be heard from any point on your site during the evacuation, and have a minimum autonomy of 5 minutes (articles R232-12-18 and R235-4-16 of the Labour Code).

Similarly, you must establish and prominently display a fire instruction :

• In premises where more than 5 people work
• In rooms where flammable materials are handled
• In rooms or emergency exits serving a group of rooms

Similarly, you must establish and prominently display a fire instruction :

• In premises where more than 5 people work
• In rooms where flammable materials are handled
• In rooms or emergency exits serving a group of rooms

This instruction must include the following elements :

1. Firefighting
2. Evacuation
3. Internal and emergency alert
4. Equipment control measures (at least every 6 months)
5. Staff training

3- Continue production after a fire

The partial or total destruction of your industrial buildings can have many negative consequences for your company :

• Partial, total, temporary or permanent production stoppage
• Deterioration of the production tool
• Risk of your buildings collapsing (the heat released reduces the mechanical
  strength of the buildings)
• Non-conformity of buildings or equipment following the disaster
• Difficult or impossible access to storage areas or workshops
• Risk of pollution of watercourses, groundwater and air (fire water run-off and smoke)
• Deterioration of the internal social climate in the company (uncertainty about the future of the company)
• Damage to the brand image, even loss of confidence of customers and prospects

According to the INRS, 70% of companies that suffer a major disaster close down in the months that follow. The risk of fire is a real danger and, in the event of a disaster, you must identify solutions to ensure the continuity of your activity. One solution to maintain your production rate is to set up temporary modular structures to host your production or storage area.

Locabri provides flexible and rapidly deployable modular solutions. Proludic SA called on Locabri solutions following a fire that destroyed 40% of its production workshops. In this case study, read Proludic's testimonial and find out how modular structures can be implemented on an industrial site :

[1] Inventory of technological accidents in 2016