A 2021 study by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) of fire statistics reported from 2014 to 2018 shows that hot work was the cause of 4,580 fires, split between homes (43%) and non-home (57%) properties, resulting in approximately $484 million in losses.
A twenty-year study by FM Global found that clients experienced 736 hot work ignited fires or explosions with a total indexed gross of US$1.9 billion in property loss and business interruption, amounting to an average gross loss of US$2.6 million per incident.
Hot work includes cutting, welding, brazing, soldering, grinding, drilling, chipping, blasting, heat-treating, thawing pipes, roof application, or making repairs with tar pots and kettles.
In a unique collaboration, FM Approvals, FM Global, and two industry leaders—Fike Corp. and BlackStarTech™—have collaborated to provide both a new portable hot work monitoring system and a new certification pathway for innovative solutions that can help reduce the risk of hot work losses.
A new hot work monitoring and alerting system has been developed jointly by Fike and BlackStarTech, a division of Exelon Corp., one of the largest energy producers in the United States. The system employs multiple Fike detection technologies in conjunction with BlackStarTech core battery power systems to monitor areas where hot work is underway or has recently ended to detect any fires that may occur and send alerts wirelessly to a central alarm or via email or text to emergency personnel.
The new system is currently undergoing evaluation by FM Approvals according to the criteria of FM 3270, "Examination Standard for Hot Work Robots." The standard was released in January 2021 and stipulates test and certification requirements for transportable and fixed hot work monitoring systems that can detect the products of combustion in specific locations during and after hot work operations. Upon detection, these systems must be able to notify facility operators of a developing fire.
According to Jaap de Vries, Ph.D, vice president of innovation, science and technology for FM Global, "Fire is the still the number one loss driver and hot work is a major contributor to those losses. There was a clear need on the insurance side for a system that could replace or supplement the human element in monitoring areas where hot work was being conducted. The codes call for someone to keep watch, but clearly that human element-based system is not working in many cases.'
The FM Global Property Loss Prevention Data Sheet 10-3, Hot Work Managment, notes that the most effective ways to prevent hot work fires or explosions are to: 1) aggressively pursue alternative cold work methods; 2) relocate hot work to designated safe areas; and 3) remove and/or isolate combustible, ignitable or flammable materials.
Many other practices and procedures are suggested in the hot work Data Sheet, including the establishment of a hot work policy, a hot work permit system, training and certification of employees and contractors, hot work auditing, and one or more continuous fire watchers during and after hot work.
Innovation encouraged
In 2019, the FM Global innovations group sought suggestions from employees for solutions to some of the loss challenges experienced by clients. One suggestion from the field was for a semi-autonomous fire detection and extinguishing robot. "It looked a little like fire fighting R2D2,' de Vries notes. The initial design was later scaled back when it was determined that an onboard extinguishing system was not practical.
Fike Corp engineers had also been working on the hot work issue for several years, says Rick Jeffress, the firm's director of business development. Fike, based in Blue Springs, Missouri, USA, is a global company specializing in commercial and industrial fire protection systems, fire detection products, explosion protection, pressure relief solutions and oil field systems.
"The risk posed by hot work is a problem we have been asked to solve for many years," says Jeffress. "Primarily for new construction monitoring and temporary fire detection when fixed systems are out of service. We have also been working with the nuclear industry for some time because of the fire watch challenge in potentially high radiation areas. That's where we came into contact with BlackStarTech."
BlackStarTech, based in Coatsville, Pennsylvania, USA, offers a wide range of rapidly deployable portable power and lighting solutions for backup power, emergency response and facility productivity applications. While it was initially founded to provide solutions for the nuclear power sector, its systems are used across power generation facilities, utilities, hospitals, telecom, manufacturing and many other industries.
Watchers are costly
According to Ben Youman, BlackStarTech's director of strategic implementation and a former nuclear power plant manager, "The nuclear industry respects fire. A fire in a nuclear plant is never a good thing. It was a regulatory requirement for us to post a person to be a fire watcher whenever a unit was repaired or replaced. We would have to call in extra people to the fire watch for a particular zone or piece of equipment for as long as it was necessary. It could be days or even weeks. It was expensive and very boring for the person having to do it."
BlackStarTech integrated Fike's infrared flame detectors, infrared and video cameras, video analytic software, and alarm control board with its own advanced lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) smart battery technology. The system is based on BlackStarTech's Lightworks iSentient Series that features automated self-diagnostics that eliminates frequent surveillance or code-required maintenance activities.
The BlackStarTech hot work monitoring system can run for 24 hours on battery or plug in to any 110 volt outlet. Youman notes that the system can not only be used by any industry or facility for hot work fire monitoring and alerting, but can also be used to monitor for steam and combustible oil mist leaks.
New standard spurs interest
Fike's Jeffress notes that since FM Approvals introduced its hot work standard in early 2021, his firm has been getting inquiries from a wide range of industries, including grocery chains, construction companies, and manufacturers of all types.
"Along with hot work situations, this system will be applicable as a temporary replacement for a fixed detection system or sprinkler system that is temporarily out of service. Not only do you get advanced video analytics for smoke and flame detection, but you'll always have a video record of any fire or smoke event."
Jeffress says, "We began by talking with Exelon and through them with BlackStarTech and they had some very good ideas for the fire watch system. They know their market very well and the safety requirements in that market. Early on we saw that BlackStarTech expertise and ideas could provide insightful influence on the design of the next generation of the product based on the new FM 3270 standards."
According to Patrick Byrne, FM Approvals assistant vice president and technical team manager, "I was on the team that worked on this innovation initiative, and we realized early on that a built-in fire suppression system wasn't feasible with the current technology. We're hoping to get a fire watch system added to NFPA 51B as a valid option to supplement or enhance the fire watch function. A human fire watcher is currently required by NFPA 51B to stay on site for at least 60 minutes or longer after hot work has concluded."
"We expect that remote fire watch systems will be capable of internet and cellular communication so they become another IOT system in a facility network," Byrne continues. "We are evaluating the first of these systems now for certification—from BlackStarTech—and hope to issue a report on it soon. They are focused on the nuclear industry, which spends millions every year to monitor hot work using expensive, skilled labor. By developing the industry's first standard for fire watch systems in parallel with the development of this first system has saved time and hopefully results in an FM Approved systems reaching the market soon."
