Role of Fire Codes and Standards in Hazard Management for Fire, Explosion and Reactivity Hazards

The hazard nature of materials found in chemical processes, whether raw materials or finished products, begins with an understanding of the inherent chemical and physical properties of each material. Within those two broad categories lies the physical hazards of flammability and instability/reactivity. It is from that point of departure that the fire codes apply a mostly traditional approach to classification of materials, which then enables the fire code to assess the hazard degree where storage, handling, or use is intended within a specific occupancy. While this is fairly well understood in mixed-use occupancies where materials are used or stored, the awareness and understanding changes when the concepts are applied to a chemical process setting. Using examples in the form of case studies, incident reviews, or incident investigations, the hazard assessment process for fires, explosions, and reactivity will be demonstrated using applicable NFPA codes and standards. This approach to assessing the hazards will be demonstrated specifically using NFPA 400, Hazardous Materials Code. Objectives for this presentation include awareness of fire safety codes and standards and ability to apply the requirements to a variety of chemical process hazards.