Questão 20 Comentada - Petrobras Innova S.A. (Innova) - Contador - CESGRANRIO (2012)

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Preparation, the Key to Petrochemical Fire Safety

By Paul FranklandInternational Fire Protection Magazine

Having the right equipment in place to detect andsuppress a petrochemical fire is essential, but so ishaving well thought out emergency preparednessplans, being in a position to ensure fast response, andhaving effective incident control.The response in the first few minutes to apetrochemical fire is critical to the final outcome,as anyone who has ever found themselves in thatunenviable position will tell you. The fact of the matteris that irrespective of how sophisticated the detectionand fire suppression installations, nothing will makeup for a lack of emergency preparedness, inadequatetraining or poorly implemented incident management.The golden rule when preparing for such an emergencyis: assume nothing and test everything.Risk assessments for petrochemical plants,indeed for any high-hazard site, should not be limitedto what might be described as “internal" fire safetythreats and challenges. If evidence is needed of this,it is necessary only to look at what happened at theFukushima nuclear power plant in Japan where thedisaster was triggered by an offshore earthquake andtsunami. In the current uncertain international climate,the risk assessor also has to consider the very realprospect of acts of terrorism aimed at headlinegrabbingmass destruction of property and lives.None of this, of course, lessens the need toprovide the most effective detection, alarm andsuppression equipment. This will probably take theform of fixed equipment providing primary aroundthe-clockprotection for such structures as cone rooftanks; open-top floating roof tanks; covered floatingroof tanks; horizontal tanks; bunds, and spill grounds.However, it cannot be overstressed that, potentially,all of this equipment is itself at risk in the event of anexplosion.While petrochemical fires are, thankfully,not everyday occurrences, when they do occurthe consequences can be economically andenvironmentally devastating, as well as beingseriously life-threatening on a significant scale. Soit is essential for petrochemical workers to keep ahigher attention level so that they do not risk beingfaced with the prospect. More time and energy needsto be devoted to implementing sustainable measuresthat will reduce or eliminate the risk of fire. Certainly,this means workers must do their job according tostricter rules at all times: performing both passive andactive fire protection measures daily, devising andimplementing fully integrated emergency and disastermanagement plans, and most importantly, seeing fireengineering as a dynamic and indispensable businesscontinuity process.Available at: . Retrieved on: 28 June 2012. Adapted.