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Fire Protection Engineering & Risk Assesment; PRB Coal Training
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Services and Products
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FIRE PROTECTION
Fire Protection in power plants can be a very effective tool in maintaining plant efficiency and unit availability. It can also hender operations if systems are inappropriately designed and poorly maintained. Most all power plants are inspected by insurance engineers and sprinkler contractors....but they RARELY are able to discover your protection scheme weaknesses.
If you are burning PRB coal or switching over to PRB either blended or straight, having a baseline risk assessment of your coal handling system is an absolute must. Don't reinvent the wheel...there are plants that have suffered the consequence of fire loss simply because they were not prepared for effects of PRB coal...learn from them...don't become one of them.
* ON-SITE ASSESSMENTS of Fire Protection Schemes, including areas such as coal handling system, boilers, turbine-generators, transformers, bunker/silos and all other major hazard areas in the plant. We go beyond the usual consultant's approach using our own "WEAKEST LINKS" criteria in assessing coal handing fire protection capability. If your inhouse expert, insurance or sprinkelr contractor does not know the six Weakest Links in coal handling fire protection, you are not being properly served and protected.
* SITE SUPPORT PACKAGES-Don't have fulltime fire protection support on-site? We have customized, inexpensive packages that provide on-site support throughout the year. Depending on the level of support you want, we can make periodic visits to the plant, perform assessments, give training, confront fire issues on your behalf, perform design work, conduct testing, give unlimited phone support. You will never be without expert advice, when and where you need it again.
* CONCEPTUAL DESIGN & ENGINEERING-How do you know your plant is adequately protected? In virtually 100% of the plants we have assessed, we have found poor and inappropriate system designs that leave major gaps in protection. PRB coal users are especially vulnerable to this.
* CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT of Systems Installations-We can provide on-site coordination of contractors during the installation process to ensure you get what you pay for. We monitor the contractor's actual installation procedures and the materials used. We monitor project progress and advise you the appropriateness of partial payment requests. We witness the final acceptance testing through third party eyes to ensure that the system performs as deisgned.
* MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT-Most plants spend more money than they need to for the maintenance of fire systems. With all due respect for the many sprinkler contractors out there, most plants are not getting their money's worth. We can conduct a comprehensive maintenance assessment that shows how well your systems are being maintained, how much money your sprinkler contractor is charging and how well the contractor is performing on your behalf.
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The picture at the very top of this page was taken under a conveyor at a plant that prides itself in having above average fire protection. The orifice of the open deluge nozzle is packed solid with coal. The pilot detection head has been insulated with a crusty coating that will not allow it to detect a fire at its rated temperature. The condition of this system was a surprise to the plant.
The picture above shows the results of inadequate protection. This conveyor had no fire detection, no fire suppression and no draft barriers. The plant was helpless to bring it under control until it hit ground.
Fire protection systems in most plants burning PRB coal are not adequately designed to cope with the type and frequnecy of fires that come with PRB use. These systems are also 15-35 years old, and represent a maintenance burden on the plant.
We can help you get a handle on the daunting task of figuring out what really needs to be done....blindly relying on insurance recommendations may result in spending for protection you really don't need. Our assessments are totally unbiased and are based on the specific needs of the plant, not cook book presciptions.
Do you know what condition your fire condition is in? Do you know the six Weakest Links in coal handling fire protection and where your plant's fire protection scheme stands? If your present insurer or sprinkler contractor can not describe how you stand on the six Weakest Links, then you are highly vulnerable to risk of loss.
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OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY IN THE POWER PLANT ENVIRONMENT
From the period of October 2000-September 2001, OSHA issued 259 citations with penalties totaling $740,886 to power plants across the country. Of these,73 ($193,847) were written for violations of OSHA 1910.269, Electrical Power Generation, Transmisson and Distribution Standard. For every plant inspection, OSHA averages 3 citations per inspection.
Why do so many plants, with resident safety coordinators, receive viloations? There a number of reasons ranging from simple oversight to poor management support to willfull neglegence. Many just suffer from the "Forest & Trees" symdrome. As diligent as most in-house safety coordinators try to be, most are not safety experts....
FIND OUT HOW YOUR PLANT WOULD STAND UP TO AN OSHA INSPECTION.
The cost of outside utility safety expert to conduct an unbiased assessment as augmentation to your existing safety program is almost certain to be less than the penalties of three OSHA citations.
Contact us for a proposal. All findings and reports are held in the strictest of confidence.
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BUNKER & SILO FIRE PROTECTION
This is an actual thermal infrared image of a PRB coal silo fire. The silo is approximately 44 feet long by 22 feet in diameter. The fire is located from the surface down to a depth of approximately 4 feet (at the second weld ring, 16 feet from the silo top). The hottest spot measured in this picture was 200 degrees F.
This fire originated by spontaneous combustion when the silo was taken out of service because of a mill problem. There was no access to this silo other than the tripper chute overhead.
The Utility FPE Group provided on-site direction to successfully extinguish the fire which the plant had been trying to extinguish for several weeks.
Fire in a coal silo or bunker presents a highly dangerous situation. Prevention of these fires is certainly the key to protecting the plant, employees and unit availability. But many older plants converting to PRB coal have flat bottom bunkers. Many newer silos have very little access from the top or the sides to fight fire. These situations call for highly specialized equipment, expertise and training. UFPEG can provide everything you need to know and have on-site to handle these types of fires. This includes a customized piercing rod called a COAL STIX and specialized training on coal behavior and fire fighting. Most of all, we know what it takes to prevent them in the first place.
YES...WE ARE AVAILABLE TO EXTINGUISH SILO/BUNKER AND PILE FIRES THAT NO ELSE CAN!
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THERMAL IR DETECTION FOR HOT COAL ON MOVING CONVEYORS
Unwanted thermal intrusion in the coal system can be disasterous. Hot coal can be derived from rail coal cars, reclaimed from the pile or spontaneous combustion in transfer points. Once the hot coal enters the moving conveying system, its presence can cause fire, explosion or worse, loss of life.
UFPEG has partnered with PATOL LTD in the UK to develop a unique thermal detection system to detect the presence of intrusive thermal energy on moving conveying systems. The goal was to develop an IR detector for PRB coal handing systems but the product can be used on any conveying system where thermal intrusion is unwanted.
The PATOL system is unique. The principal of operation is that temperature dependant black body emissions occur for all materials. These emissions range through the infra red spectrum to visible light. Both the wavelength and level of peak energy emission are related to temperature.
The Series 5000 detectors are designed to detect the changes in these emissions that occur when a hot body enters the field of view of the detector.
By the use of both optical filtering and electronic analysis of the various parameters, the system is blind to visible light from the sun or local luminaires, whilst being able to detect relatively low temperature material moving through the field of view.
The Series 5000 has been specifically re-built for the US PRB coal market. The following package comes complete for less than $6,000:
I.R. Sensor unit, type 5011
Control unit, type 5020
10 metres (32.8 feet) of 10 core cable
15 psi pressure gauge for commissioning
It's an investment in life safety, unit availablity, security and asset protection.
Contact us for a technical brochure and further information.
The Utility FPE Group, Inc.
9 Cool Breeze Way
Fredericksburg, VA 22406
Phone: 540-729-0095
Fax: 540-286-2712
Email: edouberly@ufpeg.com
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CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY EARLY WARNING DETECTION Heat detectors are found by the thousands in coal handling systems througout the country....and they are way too slow to respond to the demands of a PRB coal fire. They can not respond to spontaneous combustion or hot spots.
By the time this type of detector senses a fire, at about 190 degrees F, the fire has a head start...it is already large enough to do major damage and cause extremely unsafe conditions for fire response personnel. Heat detectors have been installed in coal handling systems for decades....and fires continue to cause unit outages and millions of dollars in damage every year.
While there is still a viable use for heat detectors in some areas of the coal handling system, they will never be able to detect hot spots, spontaneous combustion, or human riders.
WHEN DO YOU WANT TO DETECT A FIRE IN YOUR PLANT... Before it occurs or after it occurs?
Early Warning Detection (EWD) in the form of carbon monoxide monitoring uses advanced technology to detect the earliest precursor to fire....off gassing of CO...sometimes days before an actual fire is evident. EWD is the most cost effective safety investment a plant can make....period! When installed in reclaim tunnels, feeder pits, tripper rooms and silos, you will know of a potential fire brewing long before conventional fire detection methods will sense it. This gives your personnel ample time to safely investigate and remedy the problem before fire fighting or fire systems are needed. HOW SAFE IS THAT! We recommend Conspec Controls CO gas detection equipment. Call us for further information.
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We have trained plant fire teams as well as career and volunteer fire departments on the many stratigic and tactical requirements for correctly handling PRB coal fires. Fires can happen anywhere...tunnels, conveyors, buildings, piles, bunkers/silos. Dealt with the wrong way, PRB coal fires can be deadly. Our training uses live fire and simulated exercises so that you learn what to expect and how to safely handle it if a real fire occurs Our training is second to none in the industry. We tailor every class to your needs...not ours. Call us for further information.
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