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the examiner Saturday July 30 1911 15 Industrial fire brigades given the credit for Barries almostspotless ti re record By SUE ROUTLIFFE Examiner Staff Reporter Barrie has had only one ma jor industrial fire in the last five years The reason is preventive measures taken by industrial fire brigades say Barrie fire department officials There are 12 local industries involved in the brigade pro gram says Chief Jack McAllister and Fire Prevention Officer Bob French Over 1200 employees are tak ing part in efforts to put out their own fires and prevent small ones from spreading in program that Barries fire of ficials have developed since 1968 Industrial brigades are im portant considering the materials now used in in dustrial plants says French You get into so many pro cesses with synthetic ma terials he said in an inter view And synthetic materials have created problem They are increasingly toxic they burn at rapid rate and they produce heavy amounts of smoke he says People arent really aware of the materials they are using so we put lot of emphasis on telling them what can happen in fire situation said French HANDS FULL Until 1968 fire prevention of ficers in Barrie had their hands full doing general inspection and little else he said It originally started with in spections on an annual basis during the 19505 said French Work with industrial brigades began on fulltime basis in 1968 with Chief McAllister as fire prevention officer and Mansfield Rubber as the first participating in dustry In National Fire Protection Association NFPA award winning report French says concern that personnel learn what to do during fire was major cause for the program Another was the need to stress good plant housekeeping in order to lessen fire potential he said The third major concern was that trained industrial manage ment people needed knowledge of practical fire prevention methods in hazardous plant areas The object was the elmina tion of needles financial loss said French It is up to each individual com any to decide whether it nee an industrial brigade says French who says he usually recommends the crea tion of one on his initial inspec tion WORK WITH MANAGEMENT During that inspection he un covers possible hazard areas and then works with manage ment to develop training pro gram for the brigade and to eliminate those hazards We sit down discuss what steps need to be taken and what should be done in setting up brigade said French Training methods and em phasis varies from industry to industry depending on the in dustrys size says French and it is headed by firms safety director or department head He covers number of basic areas in training involving the use and operation of ex tinguishers fire safety preven tive measures static electrici ty salvage and evacuation He carries on monthly in structional visits to each in dustry showing films and giv ing lectures an hour month from October to June Hazardous chemicals and their burning characteristics is an important area he covers he said while flammable liquids is another Individual employees on the brigade also get the chance to discuss the industrys annual fire safety inspection report with the industrys permission says French During the final phase of the program in June the brigades are taken outside their plants for realistic fire demonstra tions and the chance to use fire fighting equipment Barries fire department videotapes each exercise to be replayed to brigade members for instructional purposes says French At the end of the course some industries require tests to be written and certificates are awarded to brigade members says French Response has been good says French The industries have been receptive to the ideas of brigades but sometimes its taken long time to get them actively involved he said One problem he says fire prevention officers have en countered is concern for securi ty When we first started they were very security conscious and it took while for us to gain their confidence said French Now that industries are more confident consultation calls have grown at rate of 295 this year he added Industries are good said Chief McAllister They call now to check about something theyre planning to do before going ahead with it It shows weve gained their confidence because they keep calling That can also be problem for French he says It has gotten to the point where they assume from the number of times Ive been there that know all their pro cedures he said Ill try to help them myself or find out the information they need he added and Ill go over when they call Keeping the industries con fidence is important and an on gorng concern says Hench If we breached that con fidence at any time the number of calls would go downhill fast and theyd stop coming to us Dry chemicals used to put out flammable liquid fires were one area of equip ment tried out by members of an industrial fire brigade at Plastomer at their yearend outdoor class Fire prevention officer Bob French says practical ex perience is an important part of the education Examiner Photo Cooper TooI working to reduce hazards The Cooper Tool Group is working to reduce hazards fac ing its industrial fire brigade says Ray Harris engineering manager and brigade chief The toxic oilbased paints now used in coating processes may be replaced with water based paints by December he says The company is watching development of an automatic sprinkler head said to turn itself off as well as on And three company employees have had the chance to try out Scott air packs although none have yet been purchased All the steps are part of pro gram begun five years ago with the creation of fire brigade program says Harris Jack McAllister who was the fire prevention officer at that time came over one day and told us about this program asking if we were interested in taking part he said My first reaction was that it would be extra work and responsibilities he said but then started to look around the plant The only protection against fire we had were sprinklers on the ceiling And by the time the fire caught hold on the floor and reached the point where the ceiling sprinklers would detect it it would be pretty strong fire FIRST TWO RUCIAI Barries fire de artment is just two minutes rom boper Tool on lnnisfil Street says Harris but those first two minutes are crucial The idea of fire brigade is not necessarily to put out fires but to control or contain ones that are presenting danger until the professionals are there to put it out Harris explained fit Peter Ram set off this riser in Cooper Tools plant on lnnisfil Street In Barrie to demons smoke Coo tpatethe per lool has had an Industrial fine brigade for plants reaction to fire or over four years and Ram is one of the original members Examiner Photo Cooper Tool employees were informed of the brigade by notice asking for volunteers he said The response was great We asked those interested to be part of it he said The final 18 chosen went through basic program which has been continued through the monthly sessions now held by fire prevention officer Bob French says Harris Since the brigade began there have been four incidents in which brigade training proved invaluable to getting fires out before they developed in to serious ones says Harris One involved solvent used to clean machinery that Harris says prodUCes dense hot smoke and has tendency to start flash fires which are difficult to put out completely One of our men tossed rag with the solvent on it in plastic bucket after cleaning machine said Harris Then somehow spark dropped down from some welding being done there and fire started MELTED BUCKET Tire intense heat instantly melted the bucket to the floor but quick action by the employee with Harris as backup put the fire out with nearby extinguisher Cooper Tools major concern is their paint area in which oil based substances are used Work with Glidden Paint peo ple in Toronto is going on to develop waterbased substitute says Harris We are getting close to substitute that has the same quality and we hope to have it in operation by December he said Duct work is another poten tial problem Cooper Iool handles by replacing joints each time the plant struts down Harris added There can be real buildup in bends in the ductwork he said so during every shut down we take down the bends and replace them with new pieces complex automatic ex tinguishing system has been in stalled to battle the problem of flash fires in ductwork says Harris It will operate automatical ly so that the minute fire broke out the whole are involved would be doused with dry chemical he said It smothers the fire THREE SECTIONS As for the actual plant it has been divided into three sections covered by risers and sprinkler heads When water pressure drops the risers automatically set off alarms heard in the plant and at Barries main fire station Members of the brigade are appointed to specific doors or extinguishers in case of alarm and have been tested with two false alarms tor effectiveness The maintenance department is included in the brigade with vital part to play says Harris Fire prevention officer Bob French takes industrial fire brigade members at Plastomer in Barrie through the steps of operating fire hose on fog spray Outdoor demonstration classes are the culmination of indoor training from October to June with each member us lng the equipment they have discussed in class Examiner Photo CGE serious about its brigade Canadian General Electric takes its fire brigade seriously Each brigade member is equipped with special fire fighting equipment that in cludes rubber boots jackets and helmets Top men in the brigade carry pocketpagers which can in stantly alert them to fires in the plant through the main swit chboard with code system established to tell them the seriousness of the fire The plant is equipped with an emergency lighting system that illuminates major aisles of the large plant when power fails fire truck which can be handpushed to the site of fire to assist equipment available on walls throughout the plant has been equipped with emer gency flashlights firefighting uniforms extra hoses ex tinguishers and air packs Emphasis on equipping men to handle fires until profes sional firefighting crews can answer calls has been increas ed in the last three years says brigade chief Fred Griffen think there has always been some kind of emergency organization in the plant he said Key men have always been trained with fire ex tinguishers In 1959 CGE had small brigade staffed by maintenance men It was about three years ago that management decided that wasnt enough says Grif fen The plant now has 60 area du ty members some of whom are brigade members and some who serve as general duty members General duty members go to the area of the fire on the signal of an alarm or will collect equipment if they are near maintenance offices while area duty members are primarily concerned with their specific coverage areas says Griffen CGE doesnt expect its brigade to battle major fires says Griffen We know were not the ex perts he said We only hope to stop little fires from becom ing big ones If we can put out small volatile fires before they spread serious fires can be prevented and we dont have to call in the fire department as often Major problems remain the responsibility of the fire depart ment with brigade members helping out says Griffen In serious roof fire last September professional firefighters tackled the flames on the outside of the roof while putting brigade members on duty fighting flames on the in side section he said The roof fire has been the ma jor one faced by the brigade says Griffen but the plant has serious potential problems Synthetic materials used in Backing present another pro lem says Griffen Fred Griffen adjusts one of two Survivair pacs used in Canadian General Electrics in dustrial fire brigade Griffen chief of the brigade says the plant has small handpushed fire truck and air truck with equipment to complement that distributed throughout the plant Examiner Photo There is hazard there so we limit our supply to one day at time Synthetics produce highly toxic fumes in fires and when set off create hot flash fires If we can minimize the amount we have in storage we can reduce the danger if fire starts he said Paint shops are potentially hazardous area with elec trostatic painting producing static electrical sparks and the possibility of hot flash fires In addition says Griffen any chemicals used to clean areas are volatile liquids Generally any chemical sent in that is volatile is mark ed with red label as warn ing he said Industries dealing with such chemicals are asking for trou ble if they dont have some brigade system says Griffen If your plant happened to be on the other side of town and your peo le arent trained in what to when fire breaks out you arent giving fire fighters much of chance when they arrive he said Griffen has been brigade chief for three years after tak ing special CGE fire school corporate course in Peter borough When he was given the job it was on the understanding CGEs brigade was to be dated and reorganized he sai Once changes be an the old bell system of signa was drop ped says Griffen There were too many bells being used in the plant it created confusion They were replaced with 95 decibel signal that sounds like an ambulance and has five amplifiers through the plant It and other equipment in the plant such as risers are tested weekly says Griffen After years of relying on flashlights an emergency lighting system was installed with quartz lighting that ii luminates far more of the plant says Griffen MansfieldDenman was first Mansfield Denman has been involved in industrial fire brigades since the 1950s It began with group of men on each shift assigned to learn the basics of putting small fire out before it can spread When Barries fire depart ment decided to have one fire prevention officer concentrate his fulltime efforts on training brigades it started with Mansfield in trial program The training manual which now acts as basis for programs in each of the 12 Bar rie industries with brigades originated with Mansfield Ben Flook who has been with the brigade since it began says it began as matter of common sense We started up the idea for our own safety in the plant he said in an interview We have solvent materials we use and there are areas where there are fire hazards he said Discussions with Chief Jack McAllister in 1968 then the fire prevention officer convinced Mansfield brigade could make difference in keeping flames controlled before firefighters arrived on the scene says Flook Our men knew their plant and they would know the area where fire is much better than firefighters would Mansfield now has 22 men per shift on the industrial brigade the largest number it has had since the volunteer group began operations if you get any more than that youve got problems with people getting in each others way said Flook The cover 460000 square feet industrial space that has been divided rnto four sections When the alarm goes off the location of the fire is announced over public address system and the brigade takes over When the fire alarm goes off we want everybody else out of the way he said Other employees continue to work at their jobs unle evacuation orders are given In Flooks office is control panel that would light up in the area the alarm went off in if there was fire In addition to fire fighting equipment spread through the plant and marked with red posts Mansfield has fire carts that contain extra hoses fire blankets extinguishers water pails and electrical pull equip ment There are 12 carts spread through the plant along with 50 hose reels Mansieid remains leader in industrial brigades in the area with one feature no one else has says Flook two pump houses linked with reservoir that will supply the plant with water as soon as regular pressure drops below 100 pounds Mansfiled has trouble areas where fire could break out says Flook Chemicals are mixed in the cement room built separately from the rest of the plant to avoid danger he says Buffing areas produced hazardous static electricity and raw materials in mixing rooms present another problem says Flook The chemicals and materials Mansfield uses arent heavily toxic but they could produce heavy clouds of smoke he says Open steam lines operate to douse any flash fires in pipes with live steam and the plant has switched from dry to wet collectors to cut down possible fire hazard The industrial fire brigade has cut down Mansfields calls to the Barrie fire department by more than half says Flook We look after the minor fires ourselves he said Mansfield remains leader in industrial brigades in the area with one feature no one else has says Flook two pump houses linked with reservoir that will supply the plant with water as soon as regular pressure drops below 100 pounds Mansfield has trouble areas where fire could break out says Flook Chemicals are mixed in the cement room built separately from the rest of the plant to avoid danger he says Buffing areas produced hazardous static electricity and raw materials in mixing rooms present another problem says Flook The chemicals and materials Mansfield uses arent heavily toxic but they could prdduce heavy clouds of smoke he says Open steam lines operate to douse any flash fires in pipes with live steam and the plant has switched from dry to wet collectors to cut down possible fire hazard The industrial fire brigade has cut down Mansfields call to the Barrie fire department by more than half says Flook We look after the minor fires ourselves he said