If not properly controlled, coal and coal dust can cause fires, explosions, and implosions at power plants. Strategies for promoting safer management of these combustibles include actions such as training personnel exposed to the hazards of coal and coal dust about safe handling methods.
"The serious losses in life and property resulting annually from fires cause me deep concern. I am sure that such unnecessary waste can be reduced. The substantial progress made in the science of fire prevention and fire protection in this country during the past forty years convinces me that the means are available for limiting this unnecessary destruction."
That statement was made 63 years ago as part of President Harry S. Truman’s address to attendees of the President’s Conference on Fire Prevention. Truman’s perspective on fire prevention is as valid today as it was then.
Thirty-seven years ago, a group of topic experts summarized their findings and recommendations about fire prevention in a report titled America Burning (Figure 1). Much of this report focused on the three Es of safety: engineering, enforcement, and education. However, the significance of this 1973 report was that it was the first time the federal government focused on and recommended a more coordinated approach to fire protection and fire prevention. America Burning and its follow-up, America Burning Revisited (1987), provided a roadmap for improving fire safety.
1. A burning issue. The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control published America Burning in 1973. The report sought to bring attention to the serious issue of losses of life and property caused by U.S. fires. A pdf of the report is available at www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/fa-264.pdf. Courtesy: The National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control
My father, who gave me my own copy of America Burning, spent a lifetime both starting fires and preventing them. During his 58 years in the fire service, he started fires in a controlled environment to learn about fire’s behavior and, more importantly, to train others how to effectively mitigate the losses once one started. At the same time, he used that knowledge to drive change. He hoped to change people’s behaviors so they would prevent and survive fires, and he sought to modify regulations so that they are clear and helpful. In that spirit, the goal of this article is to draw our industry’s attention to a fire danger that often remains unacknowledged: combustible coal dust.
Email
Comments
Print
Reuse
Comments (1)