Fire Protection

1) Fire extinguishing equipment is placed in the immediate vicinity of welding or cutting

operation.
a) Suitable
b) Maintained
c) Ready-to-use
d) Hot work permits shall be required by government designated authorities (GDAs)

2) Area is surveyed before operations. It must be free of following hazards:

a) Proximate combustible materials
b) Potentially explosive atmospheres (flammable gases, vapors, liquids, or dusts)
c) Oxygen-enriched atmosphere

3) Hierarchy of fire control must be followed.

a) Elimination – physically remove the fire hazard. Objects to be welded, cut, or heated shall be
moved to a location free of dangerous combustibles.
b) Substitution – replace the fire hazard.
c) Engineering controls – isolate people from fire hazard.
 If work cannot be moved:
 All moveable fire hazards shall be moved at least 35 ft (10.6 m)
horizontally from the welding or cutting area.
 Combustible materials shall be protected from heat, sparks, and slag
of welding.
d) Administrative control – change the way people work
 When welding or cutting must be done where flammable is also located,
 GDA will inspect before operations.
 Qualified watch personnel will check the location for latent fire.
e) Personal protective equipment (PPE) – protect the worker with PPE

4) Additional fire watch personnel are assigned to guard against fire and instructed in
anticipated fire hazard and in fire-fighting equipment.

Other more specific measures:

 Welding over combustible flooring:

a) Protect floor with fire-resistant shielding (e.g. covered with damp sand or kept wet)
b) for damp or wet flooring, protect personnel operating arc welding or cutting
equipment from potential shock hazards
 Install noncombustible barriers below welding operations in a shaft
 Cover openings in walls, floor, or ducts (withing 35 ft of the site) to prevent the passage
of sparks to adjacent areas
 Welding or cutting containers and equipment that previously contained hazardous
materials:
a) Clean the containers thoroughly in accordance with NFPA 326 and ANSI/AWS F4.1
 Welding on a metal wall, ceilings, partitions or roofs:
a) Take precaution on ignition due to heat conduction or radiation
b) Operations must not be done if metal walls, etc. has
 Welding near walls, ceilings, partitions or roofs of combustible construction:
a) Provide fire-resistant guards to prevent ignition.