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From s.craig@jach.hawaii.edu Thu May 17 09:09:32 2007 Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:18:36 -1000 From: Simon Craig <s.craig@jach.hawaii.edu> To: Remo Tilanus <r.tilanus@jach.hawaii.edu> Cc: Jim Hoge <j.hoge@jach.hawaii.edu>, Antonio
Chrysostomou <a.chrysostomou@jach.hawaii.edu>, Marjorie
Dougherty <m.dougherty@jach.hawaii.edu>, Jay Tsutsumi
<j.tsutsumi@jach.hawaii.edu>, Gary Davis
<g.davis@jach.hawaii.edu>, Stuart Putland
<s.putland@jach.hawaii.edu>, Maren Purves
<m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu>, Jan Wouterloot
<j.wouterloot@jach.hawaii.edu>, Watson
Varricattu <w.varricattu@jach.hawaii.edu>, Andy Adamson
<a.adamson@jach.hawaii.edu> Subject: Re: Summit fire instructions Hi Remo, the safety committee met today to specifically review
your email and section 11.E of the safety manual, in light of them. The following changes will be made, though they may require minor edits
before issue: New opening paragraph in bold text: "Note: Fire alarms are only to be used to alert of
fire outbreaks. They are never to be used to attract attention to non-fire
related incidents as they are specifically meant to keep other personnel
away from the effected area, not to attract them to it." Paragraph 2.a.ii will be amended as follows: "If possible
and safe, use available fire extinguisher to extinguish or contain the fire,evacuate the area, and meet at the
assembly area. On arrival they will inform the TSS/WL of the outcome of
their actions. * JCMT - to the CSO parking area
* UKIRT - to the UH88 entrance" The key here is "possible and safe" this means
that the person should not take any risks in battling the fire. No-one should try and tackle a raging inferno and if they have any doubt they must
evacuate the building. If they
do tackle the fire, the person involved will inform the TSS once they leave the building. If they do not eventually evacuate,
something very serious must have gone wrong and anyone re-entering puts themselves at very grave risk. We cannot
have a safety policy that encourages risk taking. We reviewed the options for the assembly point and
concluded that the CSO is still the most appropriate place. The UKIRT location
has been changed to move personnel further away from the building. Paragraph 2.c amended as follows: "i. If it is clear that the alarm has falsely
activated, the TSS/WL is authorised to reset the alarm and inform staff there is
no fire threat and evacuation is unnecessary. ii. In the event that evacuation is necessary, the TSS/WL
will ensure that all personnel have reported to the assembly
area. In the event that someone does not report, the TSS/WL shall inform the
Site Safety Advisor, failing whom the Chief Engineer, failing whom the Facility Maintenance Manager, failing whom the Designated
Official, for further instructions. Under no circumstances can the TSS/WL or
any other personnel re-enter the building without authorisation. iii If during their evacuation, the TSS/WL is able to
inspect the fire alarm panel to identify the location of the fire, iv. In the event that the only means of communication be
the JAC vehicle phones, the TSS/WL is authorised to access these provided
they can safely do so." New paragraph 2.d "d. Should a person trigger a fire alarm by mistake,
they shall contact the TSS/WL immediately and inform them it is a false
alarm. If this is not possible before reaching the safe area, they shall
inform them and the re-entry procedure shall be followed." Regarding the re-entry, there are several reasons
that is essential that the TSS/WL is not empowered to enter using only
their judgment, not least of which is 'heat of the moment' decisions can
frequently be wrong. Jay, myself or anyone else will of course use the
judgment of the people on the spot in determining the safety of
re-entering. The issue of leaving keys for the vehicles in the
building and therefore unable to use the phone will be resolved when we get
satellite phones later this year as they have their own battery power. All
vehicles should, of course, be unlocked. I know this further restricts any rescue type activity,
but this is our intent. We cannot
support any policy that potentially increases risk to staff and the policy we have implemented is standard
where there is a route to evacuate to a safe area. Again I would re-iterate that the only use of the alarm
is to alert the building occupants of fires not any other emergency. Only the personnel who trigger the alarm, only if it is safe to do so, can
remain in the building to tackle the fire. Thanks for your input and please continue to highlight
areas of the manual you think are ambiguous as this will allow us to
make it clearer and safer for everyone involved. Cheers Simon Remo Tilanus wrote: > > Simon, > > ...just when you thought life could not possibly get
any more > miserable... > > After a discussion with Jim Hoge, I remembered I
have some issues with > one section of the Safety Manual instructions on
'Summit Fire' (see > appended text). > > Both item 1. and 2. expressly state that staff can
fight the fire and > attempt to 'rescue' others when it is obviously safe
to do so. At the > same time instructions for staff are to evacuate and
to meet at the > assembly area (CSO parking lot). > > The 'staff' in these two statements are not the
same: in the first > statement it is the 'staff' that discovered the
fire. The second > statement applies to the rest of the staff.
"The TSS/WL shall take > charge and ensure that these procedures are carried
out", leaving it > open as to what this exactly means. To make things
worse, item 3 then > states that 'evacuated personnel' are not allowed
back into the > building without permission from ...the usual
list... > > My problem is that the situation is now being
discussed during the TSS > certification. Actually worse: the scenario is that
a '3rd' person > never shows up at the evacuations site. So, if this
person set off the > alarm to alert everyone to a medical problem, he/she
will be truely > dead because under the current rules the TSS has to
leave the > building, go to the CSO, call for permission to
re-enter etc. Under > the current rules, the TSS/WL > is also hampered in being able to "Ensure that
all personnel...". > > Personally, I have never liked this and had already
decided as TSS/WL > to 'evacuate to the front-door' only, never to leave
the building, and > hence leave myself the freedom to investigate etc.
So, my choice it to > lie and pass the certification test or to be honest
and fail. I don't > think that it is correct for operators to be put in
such a position. > > Leaving the exact wording to the experts, I would
like to ask that the > following changes are taken under consideration: > > - allow the
TSS/WL to investigate the problem when obviously safe to > do so and
having ensured him/herself of a safe evacuation route. I > note > that the
TSS/WL can check the fire alarm panel that is located > right at > the
entrance to locate the source/location of the problem. The > procedure
should make use of that. > > - re-entry:
add something like "In case of an actual fire, no personnel > ..." > (what is
the point of being required to call if the only information > one can
give is: "no signs of a fire and I don't know why the alarm > went
off". What is the safety advisor expected to do other than say > that it is
ok to enter with caution? The involvement of the safety > advisor
etc. does not add to the safety and the delay in trying to > contact
someone may actually make a situation worse or increase the > risk of
health problems of staff/observers possibly stuck outside.) > > - to change
the designated 'assembly area'. The 'assembly' area should > be on the
pavement in front of, but away from, the JCMT: the safest > place to be
is close to a building that one is guaranteed to be able > to enter
and gain access to medical supplies. The SMA building is > empty > after about
1-2am and regularly so is the CSO when JCMT is still > operating.
An assembly area close to the JCMT will also allow the > TSS/WL to
take stock much quicker on who may still be in the building. > For all I
care: draw a line on the pavement
towards the SMA beyond > one > is asked to
assemble. In case the situation dictates a
further > evacuation,
the CSO parking lot would be the 'evacuation area'. > > I could go on, but I think that the intent is clear.
By the way, I am > not impressed by the argument: "This is due to
experiences in the past > in which the rescuers themselves have died in the
attempt". The > TSS/WL, and in fact all summit staff, has been
trained to be aware of > the specific hazard of a fire at altitude, and,
hence, to make an > informed assessment > on whether it is safe to rescue others and fight
fires. > > enjoy, > Remo > > 1.
Policy > > > Due to
the remote locations of the sites and the extra hazards >
associated with reduced atmospheric pressure, particular care is > taken in
the design of systems and procedures to avoid fires at the > summit.
Should a fire occur, the first concern must be for the > safety
of personnel. This is nearly always best ensured by >
evacuation. Staff shall only attempt to extinguish a fire where it > is
obviously safe to do so. > > JAC's
policy is that staff and visitors shall not attempt to rescue > others,
unless it is obviously safe to do so.This is due to >
experiences in the past in which the rescuers themselves have died > in the
attempt. Also, staff should not be tempted to save the >
telescope from fire on the basis that there is no local fire > service. > > Note
that personnel staying at HP shall follow the MKSS HP policy > that is
posted in all dorm rooms. > > 2. Responsibilities > 1.
Persons discovering the fire: >
1. sound the alarm by activating the nearest fire alarm >
pull station at UKIRT and JCMT. >
2. if possible and safe, use available fire extinguishers >
to extinguish or contain the fire,evacuate the area, >
and meet at the assembly area. >
* JCMT - to the CSO parking area >
* UKIRT - to the lunch hut > 3. as far as possible, check
that all of the staff in the >
building are aware of the fire and are evacuating. DO >
NOT attempt to rescue other staff trapped by the fire, >
unless it is obviously safe to do so. >
4. alert the emergency services - 911 and the designated >
official who is defined in Addendum 1 and the MKSS >
representative at HP. Use a telephone in one of the > vehicles or at another facility. >
5. the use of the Emergency Evacuation Vehicle may be >
required - see section M in this chapter. > 2.
Persons in the building: >
1. know the fire alarm pull stations locations, exit >
routes, and evacuation procedures. >
2. promptly evacuate the building via the nearest safe >
exit. >
3. report to the assembly area. > 3. TSS/WL:
Ensure that all personnel are evacuated and have >
reported to the assembly area. > > The
TSS or, in their absence, the WL shall take charge and >
ensure that these procedures are carried out. > > 3. Re-entry Procedures > > No
personnel will be allowed to re-enter the building without >
permission of the Site Safety Advisor, failing whom the Chief >
Engineer, failing whom the Facility Maintenance Manager, > failing > whom
the Designated Official. > -- ---------------------------- Simon Craig Chief Engineer Joint Astronomy Centre 660 N. A'Ohoku Place Hilo, HI 96720 JAC phone: (808)
961 3756 JAC Fax: (808)
961 6516 Direct Dial: (808)
969 6542 |