The Role Fire Prevention and Protection Information Plays in Your Process Hazard Analysis

In any chemical process the fundamental principles of process safety should be applied to decrease the likelihood of a release. Similarly, the fundamental principles of fire protection should be applied for mitigation of consequences. Focusing on process safety guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant industry practices such as the Center for Chemical Process Safety Risk Based Process Safety standards will decrease the likelihood of releases and catastrophic loss. Fire protection practices are outlined in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Fire Code NFPA 1 and the International Fire Code (IFC). These process safety and fire protection methodologies work in tandem to achieve loss prevention and mitigation.

Chemical plants require more specialized fire protection features and systems than most industrial facilities. The extreme hazards associated with the chemical processing industry (CPI) can quickly lead to a cascading sequence of events that can result in a catastrophic loss. An unwanted release of flammable liquid, if not properly controlled, can result in a fire that can overtax sprinkler systems within several minutes. Such uncontrolled fires can compromise the integrity of vessels, piping, process safety systems or structural steel elements. This can lead to a collapse of process equipment/structures and a loss of process control.

The CPI faces unique challenges when it comes to automatic sprinkler protection and other fire mitigation techniques. This type of protection can be used for different purposes in the CPI. An assessment of the risk, plant layout, and overall loss mitigation goals will help decide which protection option is best suited to the application. This paper will outline some of those different protection schemes and when to use them. Due to the subjectivity and lack of definitive industry guidance for every situation, a qualified fire protection engineer and process safety expert should make the fire protection and safety design decisions described herein.

The overall conclusion is that process safety must be applied for loss prevention to decrease the likelihood of a loss occurrence and this should be combined with active and passive fire protection for mitigation of consequences. These topics should not be considered separately, but viewed as working in partnership as proactive and reactive systems. It is important that these subjects are administered and reviewed by experts in fire protection and process safety fields to ensure adequate protection schemes are employed and the information is properly covered and credited in the PHA process.