RISK MANAGEMENT GUIDE

Minimizing Hot Work Fires

from Liberty Mutual Property

ot work is any operation involving open flames or producing heat and/or sparks, including but not limited to welding, oxygen and arc cutting, open flame soldering,

Designate a Fire Safety Manager. Limit hot work operations to designated areas such as a maintenance shop, a detached outside location of noncombustible construction and occupancy or other suitably segregated areas. Establish permissible hot work areas. Permissible areas are areas require a hot work permit and are made safe by removing or protecting combustibles from ignition. Use approved apparatus such as torches, manifolds, regulators or pressure reducing valves, acetylene generators, etc. Ensure that all individuals involved in hot work operations, including contractors, are trained in the safe operation of the equipment. Instruct all individuals involved in hot work of inherent risks and emergency procedures in the event of a fire. Advise all on-site contractors of site-specific flammable materials, hazardous processes, or other potential fire hazards.

brazing, hot riveting, grinding, pipe thawing, etc. This hot work guide is intended for property managers, supervisors, employees and outside contractors involved in performing hot work operations. The applica tion of this guide should aid in preventing loss of property from fire or explosion as a result of hot work in institutional, commercial, and industrial operations. Hot work operations introduce potential ignition sources that require strict supervision and control to minimize hot work losses. Unsupervised hot work fires result in millions of dollars in property damage and business interruption every year. All hot work losses are preventable!

MANAGING HOT WORK OPERATIONS

Management plays a vital role in the control of hot work exposures and is responsible for the overall safe operations of hot work activity. Preventing hot work fires requires careful implementation and enforcement of a written Hot Work Safety Program coordinated by a Fire Safety Manager. To be fully effective, the program must be implemented for all hot work operations and must be continuously reviewed and updated to stay current with process, occupancy and personnel changes within your facility. The Fire Safety Manager is designated by management and is responsible for regulating all non-production hot work and ensuring that all basic safeguards and precautions are in place before any hot work can proceed. A hot work program will be effective only if it is backed by a written Hot Work Policy established and communicated by upper management. The policy should clearly state responsibility, accountability and consequences for failure to comply. The Hot Work Program should outline basic safeguards before any hot work is permitted:

MANAGING CONTRACTORS
Supervise and follow-up on all contractor activities. The Fire Safety Manager or other designated person should be responsible for contractor actions. Make contractors aware of established hot work policies and procedures and hold them accountable. Specifically identify in the contract, the work to be completed. Require the contractor to provide a certificate of insurance prior to starting any work. The policy limit of liability should be in line with the potential loss if something were to go wrong. Remove any wording in the contract that waives subrogation rights. Require the contractor to provide written notice of cancellation of their liability insurance.

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HOT WORK PERMIT

The Hot Work Permit is issued by the Fire Safety Manager and authorizes hot work operations to be conducted in a specific area, on a specific date, by a specific individual or group.

Permit Procedures
Examine work site to ensure that all hot work precautions are taken. Fill out the date, location, purpose, work to be done by and precautions taken on the Hot Work Permit. Sign and date the permit. Detach the top portion and issue to the person responsible for conducting the work. Maintain the bottom part of the permit as a reminder to follow-up on the project. Check to the work site periodically for changes in conditions and to ensure the work is being done safely. Re-examine the work area upon completion of the work, prior to releasing the permit holder. Make follow-up visits to the work site for up to three hours after the completion of the work. Maintain the hot work permit on file. Prior to issuing the permit for hot work operations in a non-designated area, the Fire Safety Manager is responsible for verifying that all safeguards and controls are in place: Ensure fire protection, detection and alarm systems are in service, where provided. If the systems are not in service, postpone all hot work operations until the fire protection has been restored. Follow Liberty Mutual Property Impairment Procedures (PE3001) when fire protection system must be taken out of service. Schedule hot work operations during planned shutdowns of hazardous operations. Determine the length of the period for which the hot work permit is valid, based on local conditions. Limit each permit to a maximum of 24 hours. Inspect the area at least once per day during the hot work project to ensure that it is a fire-safe area. Provide a fire watch during hot work operations to ensure safe conditions. Maintain the fire watch for a minimum of 30 minutes after the completion of the hot work operations to detect and extinguish possible smoldering fires. Monitor the hot work area for an additional three hours after the completion of work using production personnel, watchman, the Fire Safety Manager or other appropriate method based on local conditions. Verify that hot work equipment is in satisfactory operating condition and appropriate for the job. Allow only experienced, reliable individuals to operate equipment. Sweep up all combustible materials such as paper clippings, wood shavings or textile fibers, for a radius of 35 ft. Relocate combustibles at least 35 ft. horizontally from the work site or protect with metal shields or fire-retardant covers, guards or curtains. Edges of covers at the floor should be tight to prevent sparks from going under them.

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Cover combustible floors with damp sand or protect with noncombustible materials or fire-retardant shields. Cover or seal openings or cracks in walls, floors, or ducts within 35 ft. of the site with fire-retardant or noncombustible material to prevent the passage of sparks to adjacent areas. Prohibit hot work on pipes or other metal that is in contact with combustible walls, partitions, ceilings, roofs or other combustibles that are close enough to hot work operations to cause ignition by conduction. Provide fully charged and operable fire extinguishers of the appropriate type and size in the immediate work area. Ensure hose stations within the hot work area are ready for service. Hoses are permitted to remain on the reel or rack and not charged until needed. Cover automatic sprinklers with a wet rag when hot work is done in close proximity. Remove the rag upon completion of the hot work. Take special precautions to avoid accidental operation of automatic fire detection or suppression systems (for example, special extinguishing systems or sprinklers). Move hot work operations to a location free from combustibles.

Fire Watch Responsibilities

Thoroughly understand the inherent hazards of the work site and how hot work affects them. Ensure that safe conditions are maintained during hot work operations. Stop the hot work operations if unsafe conditions develop. Maintain fire extinguishing equipment, make sure it is readily available and be trained in its use. Watch for fires in all exposed areas and attempt to extinguish them only when the fires are obviously within the capacity of the equipment available. Know the procedures for sounding an alarm in the event of a fire. Maintain the fire watch for at least 30 minutes after completion of hot work operations in order to detect and extinguish smoldering fires. Provide an additional fire watch for up to three hours after completion of the hot work operations where the ignition of combustibles cannot be directly observed. References
National Fire Protection Association 51 B, Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting and Other Hot Work.

Hot Work Operator Responsibilities

Examine all equipment to ensure it is in safe operating condition. Obtain approval by the Fire Safety Manager before starting hot work operations. Monitor work site and cease hot work operations if unsafe conditions develop and notify management, the area supervisor, or the Fire Safety Manager for reassessment of the situation.

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smart & responsive

NOTES
More Risk Management Guides from Liberty Mutual Property. Contact your account representative or your local loss prevention consultant for copies.
Idle Pallet Storage Dry-Pipe Sprinkler Valve Heated Enclosure Applying Loss Prevention Principles Flammable and Combustible Liquids Dispensing Flammable Liquid Containers Keeping Sprinklers in Service: Testing and Maintence Keeping Sprinklers in Service: Dry Pipe Annual and Semi-Annual Tests Keeping Sprinklers in Service: Wet Pipe System Keeping Sprinklers in Service: Dry Pipe Drain Tests Keeping Sprinklers in Service: Valve Security Fire Pumps Winter Threats: Safe Work Practices on Snow-Covered Roofs Winter Threats: Freeze-Ups Fire Door Maintence Snow Loading and Roof Collapse Grounding and Bonding to Control Static Electricity Protection for Large Dip Tanks (Exceeding 150 gallons or 10 sq. ft. surface area) Flood Exposures Controlling Hurricane Losses

CONTACT US
For more information on our Risk Management Guides and research, contact us at:

20 Riverside Rd. Weston, MA 02493

While following the procedures and information outlined in this brochure may aid in the prevention of hot work fires, they do not contemplate every potential for loss or damage. Therefore, every situation should be reviewed by the appropriate safety manager in an effort to take all appropriate steps and precautions to minimize the risk of hot work fires. No duty or undertaking is intended or assumed by Liberty Mutual Property by this publication as it is informational in purpose. Copyright 2004, Liberty Mutual. This brochure is for informational purposes only. PE1004 09/04
TEL: 781-891-0230 propertyengineering@libertymutual.com

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