NFPA Journal - Spring 2024 - 10

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READERS RESPOND
Prioritizing
Hot Work Safety
TO THE EDITOR:
Your recent statistical report summary on hot
work fires ( " Structure Fires Caused by Hot
Work, 2017-2021, " Winter 2023) is alarming. It
shows the need to improve safety and reduce
the fatalities/injuries/property losses during
hot work operations by ensuring a fire watch
is present and equipped with the proper
tools to handle incipient fires. Federal OSHA
regulations (1910.252) for welding, cutting,
and brazing reference NFPA 51B, Standard for
Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting, and
Other Hot Work, and both documents require
a fire watch and fire-extinguishing equipment
needed for fires that frequently occur during
hot work operations.
A fire watch ensures that safe conditions
are maintained during hot work operations
and also has the authority to stop operations
and extinguish fires. Typically, portable fire
extinguishers are among the tools provided
to a fire watch for extinguishment of incipient
fires. But that is not always the case. It is
not uncommon for hot work operations to be
missing the fire watch altogether or for the
fire watch to be ill-equipped to handle fire
emergencies. Expecting a fire watch to use
extinguishers installed in the building for
occupant use is a mistake, as it takes time for
the fire watch to retrieve those extinguishers
and allows the fire to propagate. Fires
that spread beyond the point of origin and
10 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2024
necessitate fire department intervention are
most likely the fires that contribute to the
fire-loss statistics in your article. [The full
report on structure fires caused by hot work
is available at nfpa.org/research.]
The portable fire extinguishers mounted
on hangers or installed in extinguisher cabinets
throughout buildings are required to
be located at a maximum travel distance
of 75 feet from any point in a building for
Class A fires. Those extinguishers are for use
by occupants and are not intended for the
required fire watch for hot work operations.
Where hot work operations are performed,
additional extinguishers are
necessary in the vicinity of the work. With
portable fire extinguishers readily available
as part of a trained fire watch, incipient fires
can quickly be extinguished, thereby maintaining
safe conditions. Reliance on portable
fire extinguishers installed in buildings for
occupant use is never a substitute for fireextinguishing
equipment that is required to
be readily available for the fire watch.
Providing a properly equipped and trained
fire watch for every hot work operation will
help us improve safety and reduce injuries,
fatalities, and property losses.
MARK CONROY
Engineer, Brooks Equipment Company
Member, NFPA Technical Committee on
Portable Fire Extinguishers
A fire watch
ensures that
safe conditions
are maintained
during hot work
operations and
also has the
authority to stop
operations and
extinguish fires.
WE VALUE YOUR
OPINION. TELL US
WHAT YOU THINK.
Send your comments
to Scott Sutherland,
NFPA Journal editor, at
ssutherland@nfpa.org.
MICHAEL MACOR/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA GETTY IMAGES
http://www.nfpa.org/research
NFPA Journal - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2024
