Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property
Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994
 
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Safety and Environmental Protection Division
Prepared by J. Eckroth
 

This report summarizes the fire and other property damage experience of Brookhaven National Laboratory for the 1994 Calendar Year. The information in this report is in the format requested in the December 29, 1994 letter from Michael Flannigan to Area Office Managers.

 

1. Fire Related Deaths and Injuries.

 

None.

 

 

2. DOE Loss Experience for the Calendar Year.

 

Fire Loss $222,900 Damage or loss sustained as a consequence of and following the outbreak of fire shall be classified as a fire loss.   Other Loss $0 Damage or loss sustained as a consequence of the following events shall be classified as an other loss: explosions, natural cause events, electrical malfunctions, transportation (cargo) losses, mechanical malfunctions, radiation releases or other nuclear accidents, and miscellaneous (ie. thermal) accidents.   3. Summary of Fire Damage Incidents.

 

Approximately 99% of fire losses resulted from accidents causing $1,000 or more in damage. A description of each incident is provided in the following list:

 

A. Losses of $50,000 or More.

 

Loss ($): $84,000 Equipment / $222,000 Total1 Date: 2/31/94 Location: BNL

A fire developed within the shield blocks of an experimental enclosure (TRISTAN) at the HFBR facility. During the evolution of the fire which eventually "burned itself out," the confinement system for the TRISTAN experiment was breached and radioactive material was released into the HFBR confinement building. The specific origin of the fire was not positively identified, but the most probable source was a faulty connection in the electrical feeds to part of the experimental apparatus. (CH-BH-BNL-HFBR-1994-0005)

 

 B. Losses of $1,000 to $49,999.

 

None.

 

C. Other Losses of Relevance.

 

None.

 

1 Equipment and total recovery costs listed are as estimated in the Type B Investigation of this incident.

 

 

 

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property

Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994

 

 

4. Significant Program Delays Due to Fire.

 

As a result of the TRISTAN fire described in Section 3, the HFBR and associated experimental activities were shutdown for 68 days. This shutdown period includes the time required for cleanup activity, investigations, completion of commitments prior to restart, and restart authorization. (CH-BH-BNL-HFBR-1994-0005)

 

 

 5. Incidents Actuating Automatic Fire Suppression Systems.

 

An inadvertent release of the Halon 1301 automatic fire protection system at the Multi Particle Spectrometer (MPS) facility at the AGS resulted in the discharge of 270 lbs. of agent. This release resulted when a lifting fixture being moved pinched and shorted a heat detection circuit on the system. The causative factors for this discharge are categorized as electrical and miscellaneous (design problem). The loss amount is limited to the extinguishing agent, and is estimated at $1,350. The detection circuit was enclosed in rigid conduit to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. (CH-BH-BNL-AGS-1994-0004)

 

 

 6. Halon Reduction Activities.

 

A. Halon 1301:

 

1. Number of Fixed Systems .......................................................... 49 Systems

 

2. Total Quantity of Halon 1301 at Site

a. Active (including reserve) ....................................................... 12,574 Lbs.

b. Inventoried ........................................................................... 4,447 Lbs.

 

3. Fixed Systems Deactivated Within Past Year

a. Total Number ........................................................................ 1 System

b. Total Quantity ....................................................................... 198 Lbs.

 

4. Fixed Systems Converted to Manual Operation Within the Past Year

a. Total Number ........................................................................ None

b. Total Quantity ....................................................................... N/A

 

B. Halon 1211:

 

1. Total Quantity of Halon 1211 at Site

a. Active .................................................................................. 10251 Lbs.

b. Inventoried ........................................................................... 0 Lbs.

 

2. Quantity Replaced by Other Agents Within the Past Year .............. 34 Lbs.

 

 

 

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property

Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994

 

 

7. Fire Protection Installations.

 

A. Automatic Sprinkler Systems.1

 

As part of Fire Protection Improvements - Phase III line item funded project, an automatic sprinkler system was installed in existing Bldg. 464.

 

Installed automatic sprinkler systems in the new construction at Bldgs. 464, 729, 750A, 817, 1010, 1012, AGS Lead Glass Counting House, and the AGS H-10 House.

 

 Installed an automatic sprinkler system in existing Bldg. 929 as part of the RF Upgrade.

 

B. Special Extinguishing Systems.1

 

FM-200 fire extinguishing system was installed in the AGS Lead Glass Enclosure.

 

C. Detection and Alarm Systems.1

As part of Fire Protection Improvements - Phase III line item funded project, a fire alarm system was installed in existing Bldg. 464.

 

Installed fire alarm systems in the new construction at Bldg. 750A, 817, 1010, 1012, and the AGS Lead Glass Enclosure and Counting House.

 

Installed new fire alarm systems in existing Bldgs. T-96, 197, and 929.

 

 Upgraded the fire alarm systems in the 1004 and 1006 sections of the RHIC tunnels.

 

Upgraded the Site Fire Alarm System remote computer hardware/software. ($57K)

  Decommissioned the Gamewell Site Fire Alarm System.

 

D. Water Distribution Systems.

 

Started Potable Water System Upgrade - Phase I line item funded project. This project includes the replacement of four thousand feet of cast iron pipe with cement lined ductile iron pipe to eliminate low pressure/flow conditions. In addition, a permanent water supply is being provided for the existing Hazardous Waste Management facility.

 

 1 Costs for these projects are currently being compiled and will be submitted to CH as an addendum to this report.

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property

Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994

 

 

8. Fire Department Activities.

 

A. Number of Responses:

 

1. Fire 35

 

2. Other Emergency 49

 

3. Other Non-Emergency1 170

 

4. Medical 55

 

B. Major Equipment Purchases:

 1. Emergency Vehicles: A second Emergency One 1500 GPM Cyclone Pumper with an around the pump foam system and customized 10 man cab with vista roof was purchased. This vehicle is capable of serving as an alternate command center ($220K).

2. Other: Confined space rescue equipment including specialized air monitoring equipment, continuous air supply resource system, and associated confined space hardware. ($25K)

 

C. In-House Training.

 A stand alone training database was instituted to track required training. This complements a completely revised training program that includes training outlines and schedules to ascertain that all training categories are adequately addressed. The development of this program was done in-house, resulting in substantial cost savings.

  D. Inspection, Fire Prevention, and Other Noteworthy Activity.

 A bar code system has been purchased which will replace an existing fire management information system that is no longer reliable. The new system will track inspection, testing, and maintenance activities and will minimize manual data entry. The initial cost of this system was $12K.

  Implemented a computerized incident report system. The new system provides for a standardized report which has global search and retrieval capabilities. The new system minimizes the amount of paperwork associated with incident reporting.   Exemption request to reduce the frequency of fire extinguisher inspections from monthly to quarterly for fire extinguishers in low hazard facilities was approved by DOE.

1 Includes false alarms, non-emergency responses, drills, and miscellaneous.

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property

Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994

 

9. Recurring Fire Protection Program Costs.

 

                                                                                        FY94                     FY93                     FY92

A. Fire Department Costs

1. Staffing1                                                                     $2,090K                 $2,000K                     $1,817K

2. Equipment (MST)                                                      $ 138K                   $ 139K                   $ 129K

3. Inspection & Testing Program2                                     N/A                                 N/A                         N/A

4. Emergency Medical Response Program2                       N/A                                 N/A                         N/A

 5. Training Program2                                                        N/A                         N/A                         N/A

 

  1. Inspection & Testing Program By Others3
                                                                                    $ 881K                     $ 979K                     $ 629K

 

C. Fire Protection Engineering (FPE)4

                                                                                    $ 168K                     $ 161K                     $ 154K

 

10. Major Fire Protection Accomplishments.
 

Completed the Fire Protection Improvements - Phase III line item funding project. This project included the installation of automatic sprinkler protection and fire alarm systems in 27 existing buildings.

 

Several FHA's were completed by an outside consultant as part of a Lab wide effort to determine which buildings on-site are categorized as non-reactor nuclear facilities.

 

A Halon Phase-out Study was performed by an outside consultant for the fifty existing Halon fire protection systems on-site. The purpose of this study was to determine potential fire protection alternatives available for replacing the existing systems, and the associated costs of the replacements.

 

Increased the Fire Protection Engineering staff by 1/2 full time employee to help support the RHIC project needs.

 

The maintenance testing of fire detection and protection systems, previously being performed by an outside contractor, was moved to in-house labor (Plant Engineering).

 

 

 1 Costs reflect salary and benefits.

2 These programs are integral to Fire Department operations. Costs are included in 1 and 2, above.

3 Costs for FY93 and FY94 include salary and benefits. All years include outside fire alarm contractor inspection and testing contract costs (terminated at the end of FY94) and Plant Engineering fire system maintenance costs (fire alarm electricians, plumber, etc.).

4 FPE costs for FY92 is an estimate.

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property

Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1994

 

 

11. Personnel Actions

 

Joe Levesque, Senior Fire Protection Engineer, received the Brookhaven Award. The award, for outstanding service, is the highest that can be bestowed on a Lab employee.

James Eckroth, Fire Protection Engineer, received his P.E. in Fire Protection Engineering from the Pennsylvania State Board for Professional Engineers.

 

 John Deitz, Tel. (516) 282-4225, Fax (516) 282-7618

NFPA 1500, Technical Committee on Fire Service Occupational Safety and Health

(Resigned from position in July 1994 due to promotion and change in job responsibilities).

 

 Russel Vance, CSP, joined the Fire Protection Engineering staff as a 1/2 time employee.

(Tel. (516) 282-4683, Fax (516) 282-5887, E-mail vance1@bnl.gov).

 

 

12. Planned Activities Over the Next Calendar Year

 

Continue to provide Fire Protection Engineering support for the conventional construction and experimental design activity currently taking place at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) project at BNL.

 

Perform FHA's for the two reactor facilities at BNL and continue to upgrade the overall fire safety of the facilities.

 
Begin the design stage of the Electrical Substation Upgrade line item funded project.

   Complete the Life Safety Improvements to Bldg. 510, including exit modifications and vertical fire separations.

 

Streamline the impairment tracking system which currently processes over 2400 impairments a year.

 

Implement the new bar code system for tracking of inspection, testing, and maintenance activities by the fire department.