Annual Summary of Fire and Assocaited Losses for 1998

Annual Summary of Fire and Other Related Property Damage Experience Report for Calendar Year 1998

Brookhaven National Laboratory Safety & Health Services Division Prepared by J. Eckroth, PE, CSP March 24, 1999

This report summarizes the fire and other property damage experience of Brookhaven National Laboratory for the 1998 Calendar Year. The information in this report is in the format requested in Appendix F of the manual for DOE Order 231.1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

1. Fire Related Deaths and Injuries.

None.

2. BNL Property Loss Experience for the Calendar Year.

Fire Loss¹ $6,300

Damage or loss sustained as a consequence of and following the outbreak of fire shall be classified as a fire loss.

Other Loss²$2,000

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 (i.e., thermal) accidents.

¹ Summation of fire losses as detailed in section 3A and in Attachment A.
² Summation of other losses as detailed in Attachment A.

3. Summary of Fire and Other Property Loss Incidents.

A. Details of Losses of $5,000 or More.

Date: 10/20/98 Type of Loss: Fire
Incident Report Number: 980479 Loss Estimate: $6,000

An electrical short in a diesel-fueled forklift resulted in a fire. The ensuing fire burned the electrical cabling, seat material, and Plexiglas windshields on the forklift. The forklift was being stored in an open sided shed along with two additional forklifts at the time of the fire. No fire damage occurred to the adjacent equipment and there was only minor fire damage to the shed. There is no fire detection or fire protection in the shed. An employee reported the fire to the Fire/Rescue Group via emergency telephone. The Fire/Rescue Group extinguished the fire using a 1 3/4-inch hose line from Engine #1. An occurrence report was not generated as a result of this event.

B. Summary of Losses Less than $5,000.

See Attachment A to this report for a list of minor fires and losses for CY98.

See Attachment B to this report for a list of miscellaneous electrical and other smoke related incidents for CY98.

4. Incidents Actuating Automatic Fire Suppression Systems.

An automatic Halon 1301 fire extinguishing system protecting the AGS cable spreading room adjacent to the AGS Control Room in Bldg. 911 actuated. The actuation of the fire extinguishing system resulted from a roof leak that allowed water to enter into the detection circuit of the fire extinguishing system. The extinguishing system consists of a 60 lb. Halon 1301 cylinder protecting the main cable spreading room area and a 14 lb. Halon 1301 cylinder protecting the cable spreading room subfloor area. The fire extinguishing system was placed back in service with full Halon 1301 cylinders from inventory. The direct cause for the discharge is categorized as "a

ct of nature" with the root cause categorized as "lack of maintenance". An occurrence report was not generated as a result of this event (Incident Report Number 980254).

5. Halon Reduction Activities.

A. Halon 1301:

1. Number of Fixed Systems 39 Systems

2. Total Quantity of Halon 1301 at Site

a. Active (including reserve) 11,230 Lbs.

b. Inventoried 4,444 Lbs.

3. Fixed Systems Deactivated Within Past Year

a. Total Number 3 Systems

b. Total Quantity 345 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 10,039 Lbs.

b. Inventoried 25 Lbs.

2. Quantity Replaced by Other Agents

Within the Past Year None

6. Fire Protection Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance Activities.

BNL has an active fire protection inspection, testing, and maintenance program. The program includes the inspection and testing of over 170 fire alarm panels monitoring over 6000 alarm points in 250 facilities. Inspection, testing and maintenance is done in general accordance with NFPA codes and standards. The annual report format requests information on failure rates of equipment included in the fire protection inspection, testing, and maintenance activities. While BNL has a vigorous inspection, testing, and maintenance program, the ability to accurately capture failure rates of equipment does not currently exist.

7. Fire Department Activities.

A. Number of Responses:

CY98 CY97 CY96

1. Fire 32 25 40

2. HAZMAT Response 58 63 56

3. Other Emergency 65 58 36

4. Other Non-Emergency¹ 233 248 260

5. Medical 106 87 101
¹ Includes false alarms, non-emergency responses, drills, and miscellaneous.

B. Major Equipment Purchases:

A closed loop Halon recovery system was purchased to aid in the recycling of Halon.

C. Noteworthy Activity.

A staff increase of three firefighters (one per shift) was realized in CY98. With this staff increase, current operating procedures now have a normal shift staffing level at 8 firefighters and a minimum shift staffing level at 6 firefighters.

See Attachment C to this report for a list of mutual aid responses to brush fires in surrounding communities for CY98.

8. Recurring Fire Protection Program Costs.

A. Fire Department Costs FY98 FY97 FY96

1. Staffing^1,4 $ 2196K $ 2231K $ 2159K

2. Equipment (MST) $ 130K $ 143K $ 146K

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

4. Emergency Medical Response Program²N/A N/A N/A

5. Training Program² N/A N/A N/A

B. Inspection & Testing Program By Others³$1242K $ 1201K $ 1162K

C. Fire Protection Engineering (FPE)⁴ $ 266K $ 198K $ 190K

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 include salary and benefits and other Plant Engineering fire system maintenance costs (fire alarm electricians, plumber, etc.).
⁴ Change in numbers from FY97 to FY98 reflects shift of one FTE from Fire Department budget to FPE budget.

ATTACHMENT A Summary of Fires and Losses of Less than $5,000 for Calendar Year 1998

Date: 06/11/98 Type of Loss: Fire
Incident Report Number: 980250 Loss Estimate: $200 (replace burlap)

Description: Outdoor welding activity created a spark that ignited burlap netting installed on berm of RHIC tunnel in the vicinity of Bldg. 1010. Fire area was approximately 60 feet x 100 feet. Fire was extinguished by the Fire/Rescue Group. The fire resulted from non-compliance with the standing welding permit.

Fire Protection Performance: Worker in the vicinity of the area saw the fire and notified the Fire/Rescue Group via emergency phone. Fire was extinguished by the Fire/Rescue Group using a booster line off of Engine #1.

Date: 08/04/98 Type of Loss: Electrical Malfunction
Incident Report Number: 980362 Loss Estimate: $2,000

Description: The power transformer for the tap changer of Transformer No. 3 failed. The failure produced a light smoke condition at the transformer and the loss of power to a large portion of the BNL site.

Fire Protection Performance: Fire/Rescue Group notified of the problem and responded to the Substation. Command Post set up and Base Operational Emergency declared based on the extent of the power outage.

Date: 08/07/98 Type of Loss: Fire
Incident Report Number: 980366 Loss Estimate: $0

Description: Discarded cigarette resulted in wood chip fire at rear entrance to Bldg. 438.

Fire Protection Performance: Employee extinguished fire using water and notified Fire/Rescue Group. Fire/Rescue Group performed follow-up investigation.

Date: 08/21/98 Type of Loss: Fire
Incident Report Number: 980382 Loss Estimate: $100 (clean-up)

Description: Hot plate being used as a coffee warmer overheated resulting in a fire that ignited adjacent combustible material. Fire resulted from improper use of hot plate.

Fire Protection Performance: Automatic sprinklers present but did not operate due to lack of heat. Employee in the vicinity extinguished the fire using a portable carbon dioxide extinguisher. Fire/Rescue Group notified and performed follow-up investigation.

Date: 11/01/98 Type of Loss: Fire
Incident Report Number: 980490 Loss Estimate: $0

Description: Brush fire on northeast boundary of the site. Mutual aid from Ridge Fire Department requested and received.

Fire Protection Performance: Security notified Fire/Rescue of the brush fire. Brush fire was extinguished using the BNL brush truck, two Ridge F.D. brush trucks, and a Ridge F.D. tanker.

ATTACHMENT B Summary of Miscellaneous Electrical and Other Smoke Related Incidents for Calendar Year 1998

Date: 01/29/98
Incident Report Number: 980026
Description: Rectifier L-23 in Bldg. 929 short-circuited causing "explosion" and smoke condition.

Date: 03/09/98
Incident Report Number: 980081
Description: Electrical feeder line switch blew in switchyard at Bldg. 1002 due to lightning.

Date: 03/28/98
Incident Report Number: 980100
Description: Broken belt on A/C unit created smoke condition in Computer Room of Bldg. 197.

Date: 03/28/98
Incident Report Number: 980101
Description: Faulty electronic equipment in Room M1-151 of Bldg. 515 created smoke odor.

Date: 04/09/98
Incident Report Number: 980135
Description: Electrical outlet (120V) in the UVIR4 area of Bldg. 725 shorted.

Date: 05/04/98
Incident Report Number: 980183
Description: Electrical switch gear for 480 V pump in Bldg. 555 shorted.

Date: 05/08/98
Incident Report Number: 980189
Description: Coffeepot overheated causing casing to melt and smoke.

Date: 05/19/98
Incident Report Number: 980203
Description: Overheated lighting ballast in Apt. 41F of Bldg. 365 caused smoke condition.

Date: 06/02/98
Incident Report Number: 980228
Description: Overheated lighting ballast in Room 205 of Bldg. 555 caused smoke condition.

Date: 06/18/98
Incident Report Number: 980268
Description: Shorted relay in cabinet in Room 129 of Bldg. 901 caused smoke/odor condition.

Date: 06/19/98
Incident Report Number: 980272
Description: (Small) transformer in panel at Experiment #907 at Bldg. 912 shorted.

Date: 08/26/98
Incident Report Number: 980394
Description: Sparks coming from wire below Trailer 765 was in the process of being removed.

Date: 09/19/98 and 9/21/98
Incident Report Numbers: 980430 and 980435
Description: Overheated lighting ballast in Bldg. 901 caused smoke condition (two events).

ATTACHMENT C Summary of Mutual Aid Responses to Brush Fires in Surrounding Communities for Calendar Year 1998

Date: 03/30/98
Incident Report Number: 980105
Mutual Aid To: Ridge F.D.

Date: 04/30/98
Incident Report Number: 980176
Mutual Aid To: Brookhaven F.D.

Date: 05/18/98
Incident Report Number: 980201
Mutual Aid To: Manorville F.D. and Ridge F.D.