Fire Prevention Plan – The Role of Automatic Fire Suppression for Plant and Equipment
A Fire Prevention Plan (FPP) is a management system that applies to any site that stores combustible waste. The Environment Agency requires any such business to submit FPPs with all new permit applications and variations at the application stage.
The plan should consider waste management and storage, but also any other onsite activities that could pose a fire hazard. This includes managing the risk of fire in mobile plant as well as static equipment such as material handlers, wheel loaders, shredders, and electrical cabinets. A fire starting on a vehicle or electrical cabinet can quickly spread within the site, with devastating consequences including loss of valuable assets, damage to the environment, and personal injury.
Protecting your plant and equipment with automatic fire suppression gives you the reassurance to know that the systems are ready to work when needed the most.
Fire risks introduced by mobile and static plant
Mobile and static plant bring with them several fire hazards that can pose a high risk of fire. Mobile equipment usually contains large amounts of fuel and is also a source of heat that can cause a fire to ignite (see Table 1). A leak in a diesel or hydraulic line can spray flammable fluid onto hot components, starting a fire. Debris that accumulates around the engine compartment and the belly pan can also ignite when in contact with a heat source. Faulty wiring and overloaded or overheated circuits are also common causes of fire in electrical panels.
Even a relatively small fire in a vehicle or piece of electrical equipment poses a serious risk of injury to anyone in the vicinity. These fires can quickly spread, causing damages totalling into the millions as property, vehicles, and other assets are lost. None of this takes into account the risk of fines or even prosecution if your business is found to have inadequate fire protection in place.
Other consequences are longer-term. The reputational damage of a fire can last for many years, dramatically impacting business performance. There are serious consequences for the public, too, in the form of environmental damage from smoke and other pollutants and can have a long-term effect on air quality over a surprisingly wide radius.
Building an FPP is vital, but the most effective fire prevention goes above and beyond the legally-mandated minimum to ensure mobile and static plant are comprehensively protected.
| Fuel Sources | Ignition Sources |
| Diesel | Engine |
| Hydraulic Fluid | Turbocharger |
| Debris (combustible materials, oil, grease, etc.) | Exhaust Manifolds |
| Rubber | Brakes |
| Plastics | Bearings |
| Upholstery | Electrical Equipment |
Table 1 - Fuel and ignition sources in mobile plant
How automatic fire suppression systems can help you meet the FPP objectives
FPPs have three clear aims, according to the Environment Agency. They are, in order of priority:
- To minimise the likelihood of a fire happening
- To aim for the fire to be extinguished within 4 hours
- To minimise the spread of fire within the site and to neighbouring sites
Automatic fire suppression systems help site operators meet the FPP objectives by minimising the risk of mobile plant and equipment fires spreading either within the site or to neighbouring sites. They can automatically detect and put out a fire in its early stages without manual input, providing the quickest response that doesn't rely on an operator noticing the blaze and reaching a fire extinguisher. These systems can even detect a high temperature condition in the vehicle or plant before a fire ignites, preventing a fire altogether.
When it comes to plant and equipment, the FPP guidance dictates that at a minimum, you must:
- Have a maintenance and inspection programme for static and mobile plant and equipment
- Fit vehicles with fire extinguishers
It is important to note that the first two points deal with fire prevention. The best fire protection starts with fire prevention, but even with the best prevention measures in place, fires still happen with catastrophic consequences. Automatic fire suppression systems are designed to act quickly and protect the equipment and operator if a fire occurs.
Fire extinguishers are essential but they cannot react to a fire breaking out on their own – they rely on an operator to detect the fire and deploy the suppression agent. Fires igniting inside the engine compartment or belly pan can also prove difficult to reach with a fire extinguisher and this can put the operator at risk of injury.
The government’s official guidance on developing FPPs permits the use of alternative measures that fall in line with the three aims referenced above, and it is encouraged to make use of every measure that is realistically possible to prevent a fire. As no two sites are the same, even those with previous experience in developing FPPs may find that they need to employ alternative or additional measures to properly protect their workplace.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to install an automatic fire suppression system in mobile or static plant and vehicles, in addition to the mandated building fire suppression system. These systems will automatically detect a fire as soon as it breaks out and will instantly deploy a fire suppression agent to douse the flames. The response time of these systems is a matter of seconds - significantly quicker than a fire extinguisher. By the time a vehicle operator sees flames or smells smoke, it may already be too late.