FIRE ACCIDENTS IN INDUSTRIES

INTRODUCTION

Fire accidents has always been a serious hazard in industry with devastating results causing loss of lives, injuries, heavy damage to national property. To become aware of fire risk is the first step in applying the fire prevention. To avoid fire accidents the host spots which are responsible for fire are checked at periodical intervals. This can be done by a competent called thermal imager. Proper fire safety arrangements are ensured by analyzing the host spots.

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CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS

There are a just as many causes of industrial accidents as there are types of industrial accidents.

Approximately 120 million industrial accidents occur in the work place worldwide each year. Approximately 210,000 of these accidents result in fatality.

Causes of industrial accidents can be broken down into two broad categories: Unsafe conditions and Unsafe acts.

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Cont Causes of Industrial Accidents

UNSAFE CONDITIONS:-

The causes of industrial accidents that pertain to unsafe conditions can include insufficient workspace lighting, excessive noise, slippery or unsafe flooring, inadequate protection and last but not least extreme temperature exposure. When working with machinery or hazardous materials, unstable structures, electrical problems, machine malfunction or failure, and more.

UNSAFE ACTS:-

The causes of industrial accidents that involve unsafe acts can include actions or failures to act which result in injury. This can be a result of employee negligence but employers, organizations, and product manufacturers can also be liable for the causes of industrial accidents.

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COMMON CAUSES OF INDUSTRIAL FIRES

Leaks and spillage of flammable/combustible material Electrical short circuiting/overloading Over heated bare surfaces/heaters/electric lamps Welding/cutting/soldering and other hot work Equipment failure Smoking in prohibited areas Chemical reaction/ runway reaction Frictional heat/spark Spontaneous combustion Static sparks/combustion sparks Naked lives Molten substances

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BASIC PREVENTIVE MEASURES

Ensure high house keeping standard Cover trash containers tightly and empty them regularly Segregate flammable material from source of ignition Promptly eliminate oil/gas leaks and clean spillage of Flammable material Strictly adhere to work permit instructions for welding, Cutting and other hot work in areas where flammable are present. Store in compatible chemicals separately Where flammables are stored and used ensure adequate ventilation prohibits smoking, and use flame proof electric equipments Keep fuses and control boxes clean and closed Avoid multi socket connections Electrical repair should be carried out by qualified personnel Don't use damage cords and avoid temporary connections Lubricate, maintain and align all machines/equipments to prevent generation of heat

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HOT SURFACES

In practice, the surfaces of equipment and devices may warm up to a dangerous extent either normally or due to malfunction. Ovens, furnaces, drying devices, waste-gas outlets, vapour pipes, etc. often cause fires in explosive air spaces. Furthermore, their hot surfaces may ignite combustible materials coming close to them or by coming in contact. For prevention, safe distances should be observed, and regular supervision and maintenance will reduce the probability of the occurrence of dangerous overheating.

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Cont Hot surfaces

The thermal decomposition with mass loss starts already in the range ; moisture content releases and the non-combustible degradates occur in the combustion space. Mainly endothermic reactions occur while the heat energy of ignition source is taken up. The exothermic reactions of decomposition products are steadily accelerating as the primary process, while carbonization phenomena may be observed. In this temperature range, sustaining combustion has already developed. After ignition, burning is not steady in time because of the good heat-insulating ability of its carbonized layers. Consequently, the warming up of the deeper layers is limited and time consuming. When the surfacing of the combustible decomposition products is accelerated, burning will be complete. At temperatures exceeding , the wood char forms residues. During its additional glowing, ash containing solid, inorganic materials is produced, and the process has come to an end.

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IMPACTS OF FIRE:
The impacts can be divided into the categories below based on the mechanism that caused the impact and the spatial and temporal relationship between burning and impact: Direct Impact:

These are impacts caused by immediate damage caused by the flames such as injuring/causing death to humans, destruction of property etc. Indirect Impact:

These are impacts resulting from the fire incident indirectly. It causes income loss and employment loss for so many people. The Smoke and haze produced because of fire causes acute human ailments. The other indirect impacts include disruption in transport, business, and tourism, contributes to the production of ozone, acid rain, and greenhouse gases.

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BELOW ACCIDENTS ARE DUE TO ELECTRICAL SHORT CIRCUIT

DELHI VADODARA DELHI CHENNAI NASHIK CHENNAI KOLKATA GOA BANGALORE GOA NAGPUR RANCHI DELHI VARANASI KOLKATA RAJKOT GUWAHATI 24-May-12 24-May-12 21-May-12 20-May-12 18-May-12 16-May-12 13-May-12 13-May-12 12-May-12 19-Jan-12 5-May-12 4-May-12 2-May-12 30-Apr-12 28-Apr-12 28-Apr-12 24-Apr-12 Short circuit started fire, thermocol in room fed it Overloading may have caused short-circuit Fire in south Delhi slum: 11 hurt, two critical City bus goes up in flames after short circuit in Chennai Losses worth Rs 6L in fire at car showroom Fire mishaps in two places Furniture shop razed in hour-long fire Paliem transformer catches fire, causes loss Russell Market area was in dark at the time of fire Train fire not caused by short circuit Short circuit leads to fire inGondia Zilla Parishad office 50 shops gutted in pre-dawn fire Chemical Factory in Faridabad caught fire Grocery shop gutted Flyer jittery after twin fires in airport Labourer couple, girl die in factory fire Blaze renders 63 Itanagar families homeless

MUMBAI
DELHI SURAT

23-Apr-12
21-Apr-12 20-Apr-12

Damaged cables may have caused Kurla signal cabin fire

Fire at ITO offices destroys govt papers Fire in New Civil Hopistal, 12 patients rescued

KOLKATA

15-Apr-12

Fire at Princep Street building

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DELHI BHUBANESWAR KANPUR AHMEDABAD CHENNAI LUCKNOW KOLKATA LUCKNOW AHMEDABAD KOLKATA KANPUR AHMEDABAD CHANDIGARH MUMBAI

15-Apr-12 14-Apr-12 9-Apr-12 7-Apr-12 6-Apr-12 2-Apr-12 31-Mar-12 2-Apr-12 26-Mar-12 31-Mar-12 26-Mar-12 26-Mar-12 21-Mar-12 16-Mar-12

Youth dies of shock, burnt in house fire Rice destroyed in Hirakud FCI godown fire Fire destroys 20 shops in vegetable market Short-circuit due to blazing heat sparks two fire accidents Blaze from TV blast kills man at home Coal crisis short-circuits power generation in UP Short-circuit in AC, man chokes to death at home Coal crisis short-circuits power generation in UP Fire destroys 3 floors of bank Short-circuit in AC, man chokes to death at home Three fire incidents reported from city Fire destroys 3 floors of bank Close shave for many in Panchkula blaze Blaze and blast bring down building

JAIPUR
ALLAHABAD HYDERABAD DELHI JAIPUR GUWAHATI

4-Mar-12
3-Mar-12 18-Feb-12 17-Feb-12 17-Feb-12 16-Feb-12

Godown gutted in Railway Colony

Minor fire in Patna Express Minor fire at airport 3 kids trapped in burning van die Fire at godown of Ajmer electricity corporation Fire scare at secretariat

HUBLI
BANGALORE INDORE AHMEDABAD AHMEDABAD

16-Feb-12
13-Feb-12 11-Feb-12 10-Feb-12 9-Feb-12

Municipality auditorium catches fire

Cab plying to BIA catches fire; no casualties 3 shops gutted in Central Mall fire Children started fire after lighting a matchstick: FSL experts Two toddlers burnt alive RTPE 11

Fire accident at Balanagar

Property worth lakhs of rupees was damaged after fire broke out in Balaji fans manufacturing unit at Balanagar Industrial Area on Thursday night. However, no one was injured in the fire accident. Though reasons behind the mishap were yet to be ascertained, officials suspect electrical short-circuit could be one of the causes
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Garment showroom at Abids,Hyderabad chemical godown at Mallapur catch fire

As fire broke out in a ground plus three-storeyed building housing Fantoosh garments showroom forcing a handful of customers and shop assistants in the building
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A major fire accident took place in a commercial building at Begumpet area in Hyderabad

An explosion of an electrical transformer led to a major fire accident in a commercial complex at Begumpet
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Major fire at AMRI hospital, 40 dead: Kolkata

A major fire at the AMRI hospital in South Kolkata's Dhakuria left more than 70 people dead and the hospital is now facing tough action from the West Bengal government.
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West Bengal: Another major fire in Kolkata SSKM Hospital

Kolkata, Mar 21: Another major fire broke out in SSKM Hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday, Mar 21. Panic gripped the patients and their relatives as the horrible images of AMRI fire accidents are still very much afresh in the minds.
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Forty-six patients suffocated to death when a devastating fire broke out in a private hospital in the metropolis today. Following is the chronology of major fire accidents in the country in the last 10 years. August 6, 2001: 28 mentally ill people were killed in a fire mishap at a private mental asylum in Erwadi in Tamil Nadu. January 23, 2004: 50 people died and 40 were injured when a fire broke out at a marriage hall in Srirangam in Tamil Nadu. July 16, 2004: 91 school children were killed in a fire accident at Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. September 15, 2005: 35 people were killed and 50 injured in a fire in three illegal firecracker factories in Khusropur village of Bihar. April 10, 2006: 64 people died and 80 sustained injuries after a fire engulfed the tent at a crowded consumer trade fair in Meerut. February 22, 2006: Ten people were killed and 19 injured in a fire in a a fireworks plant in Tamil Nadu. November 20, 2011: 14 people died and over 30 injured when a fire broke out at a community function of eunuchs in Nandnagari in East Delhi.
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WHY THERMOGRAPHY IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS

WHY THERMOGRAPH IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Its a very impressive technology. Since the tool, a thermal imager, works by producing thermal (heat) pictures of the equipment, your customer can immediately see the benefits. Thermograph used to be expensive, difficult, and primarily used by large industrial facilities and the military. In one pass through a facility, you can usually find at least one component about to fail. This makes for a powerful demonstration and an easy business builder. You can simply add thermal inspection to your regular visits and have the tool available during troubleshooting calls.

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Cont Why Thermography is Good for Your Business

Typical applications:-

Electrical contractors typically use thermal imagers for predictive maintenance and troubleshooting, and sometimes during installation. For predictive maintenance, the contractor takes thermal images of key units (panels, drives, motors, etc.) at least once a year if not more often, and compares those images with each visit. Hot spots that werent there last time indicate problems in the making to investigate before they cause failure.

Software on the thermal imager helps you align your images time after time, so that
youre making consistent comparisons

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Most common industrial IR applications and benefits of the use of thermography

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THERMOGRAPHY APPLICATIONS

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ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS

The connections on this evaporator pump read over 50 degrees hotter on phase C.

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SUBSTATIONS

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SUBSTATIONS

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THERMAL IMAGING OF ELECTRIC MOTORS

Electric motors are the backbone of industry. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that in the U.S. alone there are 40 million motors operating in industry, and the fact that those motors use 70 % of the electricity consumed by industry indicates their importance.
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ELECTRICAL MOTORS: CONNECTIONS

Connections on motors are often a problem due to vibration Difficult to inspect Dangerous to open the cover while under load Solution: Use of a mesh

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ELECTRIC MOTORS
Max temp exceeded by: +10 C +20 C +30 C Insulation life reduced by: 50% 75%

88%

Note: Casing surface temperatures are typically 10 C cooler than the winding temperature Motor Inspection Basics: With failing insulation the overall motor temperature increases Overheating causes failures IR provides fast monitoring even at a distance

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ELECTRIC MOTORS

Problems that can be detected: Insulation failure

Cost savings: Lost production from a papermaking machine can be as much as 2.000 per hour In the steel casting industry losses can be as high as 600 per minute.

Unbalanced voltage
Overload Inadequate airflow Impending bearing failure Shaft misalignment

Make a first inspection to have a base line Use Routine maintenance to identify anomalies from your baseline Follow instructions on max temperature from the manufacturer

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INSPECTING BEARINGS/BELTS

To inspect all of these newly installed rollers by vibration monitoring would take too much time; with IR no problem Possible consequences: several hours production stop Heavy cost for warranty repair by contractor Solution: IR inspection already during commissioning

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FIRE PREVENTION

U.S. Fire Administrations most recent report, analysing data from 2001, estimates that 8.7% (>20% in Europe) of the nations 47,785 non-residential fires were caused by electrical distribution equipment.

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IR VISIBILITY OF EQUIPMENT

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STEAM SYSTEMS

When operating correctly, as in this example, steam trap thermal images should show an abrupt change in temperature.

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STEAM SYSTEMS
Sugar mill steam trap. The IR image shows normal operation (above) and in a faulty operation (below). Temperature differences are shown in support of the infrared images.

Sugar mill steam valve. This infrared image shows how steam bypasses a leaking valve in a sugar mill.
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UNDERGROUND STEAM LEAK

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REFRACTORY & CEMENT KILN INSULATION

Look for

Hot areas associated with refractory thinning or failure

Cold areas associated with internal product build-up

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SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Our interest is most often to understand internal heat sources: Abnormal resistance in electrical connections Mechanical friction Missing or damaged insulation What is the relationship between the surface temperatures we see and the internal heat source?

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ELECTRICAL - FIRE COSTS

The invisible problems become perfectly visible with thermography

The risk for electrical induced fires can be reduced >50% with only 2 years of use!

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FIRE PREVENTION

The most common reasons are: Poor connections

Useful tests Thermography

Insulation failure
Lightning Harmonics Wiring mistakes Overloading

Visual inspection
Connection/switch resistance Insulation testing Ground resistance Transformer turn ratio

Power quality measurement

Circuit breaker tests

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Cont Why Thermography is Good for Your Business

How it works:-

A technology that fuses a visual, or visible light, image with an infrared image for better identification, analysis and image To capture a specific thermal image, in most cases, simply squeeze the trigger. When youre done, connect the thermal imager to your computer, upload the images to the included software, analyze them more closely, and create report(s) documenting your findings.

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Cont Why Thermography is Good for Your Business

Emissivity :-

When you measure surface temperature, youre actually reading the infrared energy emitted by that object. Emissivity tracks how thoroughly the surface emits energy. The standard emissivity of most organic materials and painted or oxidized surfaces is 0.95. However, certain materials, such as concrete and shiny metals, are poorer emitterstheir emitted energy doesnt accurately reflect their real surface temperature.

To get an accurate thermal measurement of things like bus bars and any large
metal electrical connectors, you need to adjust the emissivity value on the imager. Emissivity values for many materials are published in charts. If you can look up the emissivity value for an object, you can adjust the imager appropriately. Or, you can learn to adjust the emissivity while youre taking the image.

For example, for shiny fuse caps the emissivity might be only 0.6. If you know that, you can change the imagers emissivity from 0.95 to 0.6 and see the real temperature.
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Cont Why Thermography is Good for Your Business

Radiometric :-

When you look at an image on a digital screen, youre really looking at thousands of individual little points of color. In the same way, radiometric thermal imagers capture temperature data for each of the thousands of points in a thermal image. A non radiometric imager only temperature data for a few focal points. provides

Well, back at the computer, you can zoom in and out of a radiometric image, exploring any part of the image in more detail, and you can also change the emissivity or temperature range, to better analyze the results.

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Cont Why Thermography is Good for Your Business

Thermal (temperature) sensitivity:-

Most contractors do fine with a thermal sensitivity range of -10 C to 350 C (14 F to 662 )

Other basic features:-

Adjustable emissivity Selectable temperature (C or F), Level and gain control Accuracy within 2 % or 2 C Repeatability within 1 % or 1 C Rechargeable battery pack (minimum 3 hour life) Laser sighting and a protected lens

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