Fire Suppression: Subdue Flames Fast

Written by Diane M. Calabrese | Published September 2024

So serious a subject is fire suppression that the starting point should not be suppression but prevention. Preventing fires must always be the goal. But should the worst happen, the capability to subdue flames fast is imperative.

Situational awareness is where all safety precautions begin. Know the setting. Assume nothing. Even if a contractor has worked on the same site in the past, it’s important to do a walkaround before beginning another job there.

Once the setting is understood, the method must be matched. “In order to prevent fires, contractors have to think, ‘Where could fires start?’ or ‘What processes am I using that could cause or start a fire?’ and then take preventive measures to suppress them,” says Michael Draper, the director of safety and compliance at PWNA.

Draper gives us an example. “For instance, a contractor doing a house wash with chlorine should know that contact with electrical boxes could cause a fire, so he takes preventive measures by isolating the boxes from the exposure.”

To be sure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) offers extensive assistance along with its expectations (and regulations) for preventing fires at worksites. Draper suggests everyone begin there to get a grounding in the many forms of fire suppression tools—from in-house sprinkler systems to extinguishers.

“I think OSHA uses understandable language here,” says Draper in making the recommendation. He cites general industry standard 1910.157(d)(1).

“Portable fire extinguishers shall be provided for employee use and selected and distributed based on the classes of anticipated workplace fires and on the size and degree of hazard which would affect their use,” is part of the prescription, and Draper relays it as a starting point. He then elaborates a bit.

“It’s pretty clear that we anticipate what the fire could be and then take preventive and mitigating actions to control it,” explains Draper. “In this case it applies to fire extinguishers, but in principle it applies to whatever fire suppression is being utilized.”

Should a contractor have a fire extinguisher in his or her vehicle’s cab and in the cargo area? What about an extinguisher on the jobsite?

The questions we ask are redundant and should be identified as such by all in the industry. “OSHA requires it”—the described placement of extinguishers, explains Draper.

“And when we add 1910.157(d)(2)—‘The employer shall distribute portable fire extinguishers for use by employees on Class A fires so that the travel distance for employees to any extinguisher is 75 feet (22.9 m) or less’—the expectation from OSHA is very clear,” says Draper.

“It is very apparent that contractors must provide the equipment, training etc. for employees possibly subjected to a fire,” says Draper. The same applies to manufacturers and distributors.

In the last section of this article, “Expectations and Assistance,” we delve deeper into the realm of compliance with OSHA rules that exist to ensure fire safety. In the next two sections, we get some advice from two members of our industry who have worked as firefighters.

MINDFULNESS

A retired firefighter with 17 years’ experience, Mike Dingler, owner of Firehouse Pressure Washing, employs firefighters at his company, which is based in Peachtree City, GA. His experience with fire safety is broad and deep and includes being a nationally licensed paramedic.

Dingler served as a SWAT tactical medic, hazmat technician, and ladder truck operator during the 10 years he was employed full time at a fire department. He has been a volunteer firefighter since he started his business.

Mindfulness sounds a little new age, but it emphasizes that the best way to achieve situational awareness is to shun distractions. Surveilling a jobsite while texting or talking on a digital device is more mindless than mindful.

Pay attention to the basics. “Know that water, soap, chemicals, and electricity do not mix well,” says Dingler.

“Prevention is key to making sure a fire doesn’t actually happen,” says Dingler. “Cover exposed outlets, doorbells, cameras, and anything else that has power to it and cannot get wet.”

It sounds good, but things can still go awry. Even when all the precautions Dingler cites are taken, there may be hidden threats.

“Even when you do all the preliminaries, a fire may still occur from decomposed gaskets/seals,” explains Dingler. “Knowledge of building construction and residential electrical wiring will always help with fire prevention, especially in the house washing industry.”

Strive for the best. But plan for the worst-case scenario.

THE BOTTOM LINE AND THE STARTING POINT ARE ONE AND THE SAME WITH EXPECTATIONS FROM OSHA: THE EMPLOYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING A FIRE PORTECTION PROGRAM AND PROVIDING NECESSARY EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING TO CARRY THROUGH ON THE PROGRAM

“Regardless of prevention measures taken, a fire may break out; the next-best thing to prevention is always having a charged and readyto-use fire extinguisher on each of your trucks, and you should know where it is located,” says Dingler. And standardization of availability ensures ease (and speed) of access.

“If you have multiple trucks, make sure the extinguisher is in the same location on each truck,” says Dingler. “Make sure the technicians know where the extinguisher is and also that they know how to use it.”

Also make sure everyone knows how issues can cascade into one another.

“The extinguisher will be used for your equipment, but more importantly it may stop an entire house—or commercial structure—fire,” says Dingler.

“If you are washing the side of the house and an outlet begins to smoke, that is not the time to try to remember where your extinguisher is located,” says Dingler. And understand the limitations of water as a fire-suppression tool.

“Water alone may not extinguish an electrical fire, depending on what type of combustible material is located around the outlet or above the outlet in the wall of the home,” explains Dingler. “This is why it is important to have at least an ABC-rated fire extinguisher on hand at all times to protect your equipment and the structures you are cleaning.”

ABC-rated refers to a multipurpose extinguisher that can be used effectively to combat three classes or categories of fire. (Classes are broadly wood and paper—A, flammable liquids—B, and electrical—C.)

It’s not just a matter of purchasing the correct fire extinguisher and putting it anywhere. Thoughtfulness applies here too

“The best place to keep an extinguisher is where you can remember where it is,” says Dingler. “The cab is an option, but remember that heavy objects like extinguishers become projectiles in motor vehicle accidents. Serious injury or death could occur from an unsecured extinguisher in the cab of a truck during a rollover.”

Dingler recommends contractors store an extinguisher with a bracket if in the cab, or better yet store it in a toolbox or truck bed compartment. “Wherever you store it, just make sure you remember where it is located.”

Memories should be tested periodically. “In the heat of an emergency, simple things [like the where and how of extinguishers] are often forgotten due to the body’s sympathetic nervous system,” says Dingler.

“Repeated training on location is critical to overcome this.”

Moreover, Dingler recommends contractors take advantage of organized training. Professional organizations such as PWNA, UAMCC, and CETA offer robust courses on safety and adherence to regulations.

CANDOR

Roy Pennington, owner of Hi Pressure Cleaning Systems in Houma, LA, is a retired volunteer fire chief and arson investigator of 16 years tenure who also has logged more than 30 years in the fire service. He speaks with extensive knowledge and candor about the complexity of fire safety.

“You can try as much as you want, but sometimes ‘you can’t fix stupid,’” says Pennington. A harsh appraisal, but he has witnessed outcomes from blissful ignorance.

For instance, Pennington says a very large contract cleaner burned two—not one—new box trucks because employees of the contractor were trying to run a four gpm, vertical-fired hot-water unit in the back of the truck. He has more examples.

“I have provided rental equipment that the engineer specified as having to be explosion-proof, only to see the man on the end of the gun release the trigger, light a cigarette, and resume washing,” says Pennington. “Yes, they [the unthinking] do live among us. Sometimes only for a short time.”

Vigilance is essential. “Due to the nature of the industries my company serves, prevention ranges from having a dry-chem extinguisher on site to ‘the nth degree’ of having a designated employee whose sole responsibility and assignment is ‘fire watch,’” explains Pennington.

But even those precautions cannot override the lapses of operators. “We have seen contractors come in with small ‘personal-watercraft’ size fire extinguishers mounted directly to the hot water washer,” says Pennington.

Try to imagine the absurdity of trying to get the extinguisher off a unit that is on fire to put out the fire, explains Pennington. It’s a nonsensical situation deriving from individuals who do not take seriously the importance of knowing what they are doing.

Training and retraining are needed. “A fire extinguisher dry-chem of sufficient capacity should be clearly marked in a spot 20 feet away minimum from any portable hot water machines on the job site,” says Pennington. “The morning safety meeting should include a reminder that ‘this is where the fire extinguisher is kept.’”

The lackadaisical approaches Pennington has seen and still sees concern him greatly. Despite the diversity of applications in our industry, he would like to see a more comprehensive approach to training in fire suppression and safety.

“I have had rental machines not ignite when a trigger is squeezed—and the operator continues running the machine, loads the burner up, and saturates the coil with fuel,” says Pennington. “When we resolve the issue and fire it up for the first time, flames go shooting 30 feet in the air.”

What’s a contractor to do to ensure safe outcomes? “Before startup, ask yourself, ‘What is the worst possible thing that could go wrong?” says Pennington. Then, factor in disengaged employees and ask and answer the same question again. “And plan for it.”

Manufacturers should envision the settings in which their equipment will be used, says Pennington. Taking the end-user’s view would add to safety.

“I have one manufacturer who designed a diesel-powered cold-water unit with the hot exhaust dumping directly out of the bottom of the base plate to the ground,” says Pennington. “The shipyard was ‘not happy’ when one of their team members had to go put out the grass fire that originated due to this design deficiency.”

Pennington has heard—and seen the consequences of—many accounts that include, ‘It was working just fine and then just caught fire,’ accounts that make him skeptical. He knows that there are—difficult as it is to believe—situations in which employees try to add fuel to an engine while it’s running.

Fire is a powerful tool. It’s also a dangerous tool. But perhaps more dangerous than fire itself, explains Pennington, is the lack of respect (and knowledge) with which many people treat it.

EXPECTATIONS AND ASSISTANCE

The bottom line and the starting point are one and the same with expectations from OSHA: The employer is responsible for developing a fire protection program and providing necessary equipment and training to carry through on the program.

There are specific OSHA requirements for fixed suppression systems (1910.160) and automated ones (1910.159). The big requirements involve warning employees of hazards from the systems and required regular inspections to verify function.

Manufacturers and distributors will most likely have fixed and automated systems in place. (In many parts of the country, local ordinances require such systems for businesses above a certain size.)

Particulars regarding on-site water, alarms, firewalls and doors, exit directions, and so on are covered by OSHA Standard 1926.150. The same standard also details the types of fire extinguishers (and small hose lines). See specifically 1926.150(c)(1)(iii) for a table illustrating fire extinguisher types (e.g., water, foam, carbon, dry chemical) and classes (A, B, and C as well as D with its special extinguishing agents for unique settings).

Where to begin? Use the search engine at OSHA.gov to understand and clarify details in standards. Get a copy of the OSHA® FactSheet titled Fire Safety. And consistently couple formal training with common sense.