Accident case analysis: one question per Monday (16). +3 wealth for participation, plus an additional 1–10 wealth for correct answers

Thread Content

A major fire broke out at a manufacturing plant, killing 84 people and injuring over 40 others. The accident occurred as follows: The factory building for producing these products was a three-story reinforced concrete structure. The first floor served as both a cutting workshop and a warehouse; the warehouse was divided into sections using wooden planks and iron fences. Flammable materials such as sponge were piled up inside to a height of 2 meters. The wires running across the top of the warehouse and over the iron fences were not insulated, and the fuses in the main electrical switch were replaced with two steel wires. The second floor is the hand-sewing and packaging workshop as well as the office; the toilet has been converted into a kitchen, where two cylinders of liquefied gas are kept. The third floor is the ready-to-wear workshop. The factory operates under closed management systems; of the two stairwells, the one on the east side is separated from the factory building by iron bars and is not connected to it, while the platform of the west side stairwell is cluttered with miscellaneous items. Of the four gates at the bottom floor, two are sealed off, and another one is blocked by iron bars to keep people out of the workshop. Employees must use the gate in the southwest direction to enter and leave, and they have to pass through a narrow passage enclosed by iron bars that is only 0.8 meters wide in order to clock in. All windows are fitted with iron bars and wire mesh. The fire was caused by a wire short circuit, which ignited the flammable materials in the warehouse. In the early stages of the fire, the flames were not intense, and some employees tried to turn on the fire hydrants and use fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but their attempts were unsuccessful due to a lack of knowledge on how to operate them. Driven by the chimney effect from the open cargo lift in the southeast corner of the first floor, the fire spread rapidly to the second and third floors. All the employees on the first floor escaped, while the factory manager, who was working on the second floor, failed to organize the workers to evacuate; instead, he opened a window and climbed down using a rope to save his own life. On the second and third floors, 300 employees rushed downstairs in panic without any guidance. Since the northwest door at the bottom of the stairs was blocked, they had to turn and pass through the check-in area in order to escape via the southwest door. The passage was narrow and crowded, there was heavy smoke and fire, and visibility was poor; many employees collapsed near the bottom of the stairs due to the toxic fumes, resulting in severe casualties. 1. The “back” symbol indicates _______. A. Reinforced insulation B. Double insulation C. Service insulation D. Basic insulation 2. The power distribution system in the manufacturing plant mentioned in the case should use _______. A. TT system B. PT system C. TN system D. All of the above three systems 3. The safe current-carrying capacity of a wire is determined by _______. A. Wire cross-section B. Wire material C. Wire length D. Insulation material 4. Foam fire extinguishers are suitable for extinguishing _______. A. Class A fires B. Class B fires C. Fires involving live electricity D. Class C fires. 5. What problems exist in the emergency response to the above accident? ( ). A. The safety exits were locked and the safety passages were too narrow, preventing workers from evacuating quickly after the accident occurred; B. Workers were not given any emergency training or drills, resulting in a lack of basic knowledge regarding emergencies and self-rescue skills, and they were unable to use fire-fighting equipment to put out the fire in a timely manner; C. The person in charge of the company fled the scene and failed to direct the emergency response efforts; D. No emergency rescue plan was prepared in advance, nor were the responsibilities of the emergency rescue team and its members defined. Answer key: 1.B 2.C 3.ACD 4.AB 5.ABCD