Document RaG27zp39MJwJLa38rqEKoBxX

FIRE PROTECTION ing agents and extinguishing equipment have been developed to control and extin guish fires of this type. Norma] extinguish ing agents generally should not be used on metal fires as there is a danger in most cases of increasing the intensity of the fire because of a chemical reaction between some extinguishing agents and the burning metal Other fires Fires that involve certain combustible metals or reactive chemicals require--in some cases-special extinguishing agents or techniques See NFPA Standards Nos 49 and 325 Identification of Hazardous Materials Fires and other emergency situations of ten involve chemicals that have varying de grees of flammability, toxicity, and reactivi ty (or stability) Information on these relative hazards must be readily available to those confronted with such emergencies if bfe safety, fire prevention, and effective fire control are to be achieved A system for the quick identification of hazardous properties of chemicals was adopted in 1961 by the National Fire Pro tection Association * For uniformity, this system recommends the use of a diamond shaped symbol and numerals indicating the degree of hazard (see Figs 33-11 and -12) The three categories of hazards are iden tified for each material health, flammabili ty, and reactivity (stability) The order of seventy in each category is indicated numeri cally by five divisions ranging from 4, which indicates a severe hazard, to 0, which indi cates that no special hazard is involved Col ors are used to better identify each category blue is for health, red for flammability, and yellow for reactivity At the bottoiji of the three-part diagram is an open space This may be used to indi cate additional information such as radioac tivity hazards, proper fire extinguishing agent, skin hazard, unusual reactivity with water, pressurized containers, or protective equipment required designed and provided with protective de vices and construction elements intended to render fire-safety features, only regular pe riodic inspections can assure their full value In addition to inspections made by insurance companies and by fire protection bureaus of fire departments, every industrial plant should include periodic self-inspec tions in its fire-safety program In many plants the responsibility for locat ing and reporting fire hazards is entrusted to the safety committee or to one of its special subcommittees The function of these com mittees is to inspect for common fire causes, such as poor housekeeping, improper storage of flammable materials, smoking violations, and excessive accumulations of dust or flam mable material. Regardless of the size of the plant, fire hazards should be detected and eliminated through frequent inspection, and fire fight ing equipment should be checked regularly to be sure that it is ready for any emergency The inspector, fire chief, or other individ ual m charge of fire prevention and protec tion should have a complete list of all the items that should be inspected at regular intervals If fire brigade members (see sec tion "Fire Prevention and Protection" in Chapter 35, "Emergency Action Plans ") are assigned to this duty, they should receive special instructions It is best to have men alternate on inspections Fire equipment in spection should cover the following items 1 Control valves on fire protection system 2 Hydrants 3 Fire pump 4 Hose bouse equipment 5 Sprinkler tank 6 Special types of protection (carbon di oxide, foam, or other automatic sys tems) 7 Portable fire appliances 8 Small hose 9 Fire doors 10 Special hazards (Text continues on page 33-20 ) Fire Prevention Activities Inspections The best time to stop b fire is before it starts Even though buildings are pioperly `National Fire Protection Association, 60 Batterymarch St, Boston Identification of Fire Hazards of Materials Standard No 704M 33-17