Sharing others’ accidents (fires) 11

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Analysis of a Cooling Tower Fire Incident I. Course of the incident At 15:15 on January 8, 2003, a fire broke out suddenly in the cooling tower of a new caustic soda production facility belonging to a chemical manufacturing company. Thanks to the diligent efforts of the company’s firefighters, the fire was extinguished after half an hour; however, the scene of the fire was in ruins, with both cooling towers completely destroyed. II. Cause of the accident: Both of these cooling towers are made of glass fiber reinforced plastic structures, and the filler inside them is highly flammable. Before the accident occurred, the main installation work was almost complete, with only the installation of some electrical wiring still in progress. While installing the power cable sleeves, the electrical workers used welding to fix them on the top of the cooling towers without obtaining a permit for hot work, nor did they take any safety precautions. The welding slag ignited the filler material inside the cooling towers, resulting in the destruction of two of them; the direct economic loss amounted to over 400,000 yuan. III. Responsibility Analysis 1. Illegal hot work. The staff failed to obtain a fire work permit as required, and carried out welding work without any safety measures, thereby seriously violating the relevant safety management regulations. 2. All the installation workers are electrical installers; carrying out welding tasks without having the proper professional certification for such specialized work constitutes a clear violation of safety regulations. IV. Lessons from the accident: This accident is a typical case caused by illegal operations. As early as October 1999, the company experienced an accident caused by illegal use of fire, which led to the destruction of 2 cooling towers. However, in just under 4 years, the same serious accident occurred again, reflecting severe problems in the company’s safety management. 1. The effectiveness of safety education is poor. Although various forms of safety education such as training and assessments are carried out regularly, the results are not entirely satisfactory. The repeated occurrence of the same accidents indicates that some employees still lack a strong sense of safety. Additionally, there are deficiencies in the safety management during project construction; the project supervisors are unable to oversee safety issues throughout the construction process, which leads to unsafe practices such as unauthorized use of electricity, illegal use of fire, and work being carried out without proper permits, thereby causing accidents. 3. There are still blind spots in specialized management. Regarding the requirement for personnel in various job categories, especially those in special roles, to work and operate with valid certificates, supervision and assessment are not timely or strict enough. V. Measures Taken: After the accident, the company’s leadership and managers at all levels conducted thorough self-reflection from top to bottom. All management personnel and maintenance staff visited the fire scene in person. Through on-site education, all employees were made aware of the truth behind the accident, its causes, as well as the harm and impacts it had on the company, particularly the losses suffered by the individuals responsible for the accident and their families. Furthermore, following the accident, safety management teams at all levels within the company carried out thorough efforts to eliminate violations of safety regulations. They improved safety protocols, standardized the inspection and evaluation of safety measures, intensified safety training, and worked to enhance the safety skills of all employees. It’s most cost-effective to learn from others’ accidents as if they were one’s own*.