Fire Experts: It’s Time to Take the Tree Down!
If you’re one of those people, or businesses, that love to keep your Christmas tree up after the holiday, the risk of fire might motivate you to think again.
Category: Fire Safety
Retail Details: Fire and Electrical Safety for Retailers
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites retailers over and over for failing to ensure that their stores are fire-safe. Retailer Dollar General has been OSHA’s most cited case in point, although they are far from the only offender. Since 2010, OSHA has recorded more than 100 safety and health violations at Dollar […]
Retail Details: Clear the Exits for Holiday Fire Safety
When you think of dangerous industries, “retail” is probably not the first one that springs to mind. And while retail employees aren’t generally exposed to the types of machinery hazards that industrial workers face or to the kinds of health hazards that healthcare workers face daily, there are some persistent issues that crop up during […]
Who Speaks for You in a Crisis?
At about 9 a.m. on October 4, 2016, contractors were cleaning coal bunkers at the Cambria Cogen power station in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, when an explosion occurred. The explosion injured four workers, two of them seriously—but early news reports stated that three men were taken to the hospital with burns, and little else. Always in […]
Minor Fire Leads to Major Penalties: Are You Making These Fire Safety Mistakes?
Yesterday we looked at some of the problems that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) identified during the inspection of a United States Postal Service (USPS) facility in St. Louis, where a minor fire could have turned major after workers went through five fire extinguishers before they located one that worked. As is often […]
Minor Fire Leads to Major Penalties: Could Your Workers Put Out a Small Fire?
At the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) vehicle maintenance facility in St. Louis, a minor grease fire erupted in a wheel hub on July 3, 2016. Workers trying to put out the small blaze ran into a problem: The first five fire extinguishers they tried to use were not charged.
CSB’s Most Wanted Safety Improvements: Emergency Planning and Response
On April 17, 2013, a 60-ton stockpile of fertilizer-grade ammonium nitrate (FGAN) exploded at the West Fertilizer Company (WFC) in the middle of downtown West, Texas. The fire and explosion killed 15 people—12 twelve emergency responders and 3 members of the community—caused injuries to 260 more people who required medical treatment, and damaged more than […]
Preparedness is Prevention: Emergency Preparedness Could Have Prevented These Injuries
When a 900-gallon melt tank containing hexane and ethanol overpressurized and exploded in December 2015 at a food additive manufacturing facility in Newark, Ohio, owned by Arboris®, LLC, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) faulted the employer’s process safety management (PSM) for failing to prevent the explosion. But even when the fireball erupted, […]
Preparedness is Prevention: Six More Ways Process Safety Management Could Have Prevented This Fire
At the Arboris® plant in Newark, Ohio, workers were adding hexane to a process that produced sterols—a natural compound produced by pine trees—for use in foods such as spreads, bread, milk, and yogurt. Unfortunately, the employer’s process safety management (PSM) program failed at many points to identify and correct potentially disastrous issues with the process. […]
Preparedness is Prevention: Four Ways Process Safety Management Could Have Prevented This Fire
Is an ounce of prevention really more effective than a pound of cure? According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), that’s certainly the case for Arboris®, LLC, a food additive manufacturing facility in Newark, Ohio. A 900-gallon melt tank at the facility containing hexane and ethanol overpressurized and exploded in December 2015. […]