- Author
- Timoney, T.
- Title
- Texas Plywood Manufacturing Plant Destroyed.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA
- Journal
- Fire Journal, Vol. 79, No. 2, 53-56,58,60-62, March 1985
- Keywords
- industrial plants | manufacturing | fire investigations | plywood
- Identifiers
- truss
- Abstract
- Plant management had established a cutting and welding procedure which was designed to provide safeguards against the ignition of fires during cutting or welding operations in the polywood manufacturing facility. The work crews assigned to the repair and welding operations took fire prevention precautions which included the shutdown of the No. 2 press and the two exhaust fans in the draft hood, the removal of all the polywood in the press, the establishment of a fire watch, and the wet-down of the welding area with the small garden-type hose before beginning arc welding operations. However, these fire prevention precautions were inadequate in preventing the ignition and the sustained burning of the highly combustible deposits of oil, pitch, and wood dust that had accumulated on the hot press and the open-grate steel catwalk and in the draft hoood on the roof trusses and polywood roof deck.