And this, boys and girls, is what happens when you don't empty your DC bags….
As some of you know, I work at an industrial packaging plant and we now have 40,000 sq. ft dedicated to manufacturing crates and pallets (and another 9,000 sq. ft. for pallet repair/recycling).
Last night at 5:30 the dust collector for our panel shop (servicing a CNC router and an automated panel saw) caught on fire. The fire was first observed by a truck driver parking a trailer on our back lot, who had just seen the production manager 5 minutes before, so he called his cell. The production manager (who used to be a full time fire fighter) was the first on the scene. The flames were spouting out around the blow-out panels ~6 ft. in the air and were about to get into the eaves. He hit it with two dry chemical extinguishers and directed people to shut down the blower, which was still pumping air.
The fire was contained to the DC bag house when the fire dept. arrived. They popped the blow-out panels on the outboard side with a cordless impact driver and dowsed the innards with foam (AFFF to be precise).
IMO, the fire was very close to getting into the roof and if it had, we may have likely lost the building.
Oddly, the second person to become aware that something was off, was the panel saw operator, who could sense that the DC suction to the panel saw suddenly increased markedly. He was walking outside to look at the DC just as the production manager arrived on the scene.
Things that went wrong…
>Nobody checked the bags at shift turnover.
>The panel saw operator did not investigate why his DC suction was low and continued to operate his saw.
>The first fire alarm pull station actuated did NOT trigger the alarm.
>A fork truck driver came around the building a minute later and somewhat panicked, jumping off his truck while it was still in motion, to run get help.
>Production manager saw smoke coming over the building as he approached, yet didn't call 911 until he got there and observed the fire (though this is debatable).
>Access the the DC disconnect was obstructed by the flames and someone had to run back inside the building to shut down the unit.
Things that went right…
>Production manager kept his head, called 911, fought the fire with extinguishers and directed others. He probably saved the day.
>Fire department responded very quickly and promptly put out the fire in the bag house.
>We have working fire extinguishers in many locations and they are inspected monthly (actually inspected, the forms are not just checked off by someone in the office).
All things considered, I think we got lucky. The production manager was key to quickly getting the situation under control and he just happened to be at work late (well, he's always there late… he has a really sucky job).
This is the $8,200 temporary system that will be delivered tomorrow morning so we can keep the shop running.
It's a 20 HP Dustek 4-bag single stage system (for inside use). We have used several similar Dustek systems over the years and they are solid and robust.
It will keep us going until we can get our head wrapped around the permanent solution.
Lessons learned….
>Think safety in everything you do.
>Don't cut corners with your equipment or fire safety kit
>Know how to de-energize equipment quickly (label your breakers and know where they are)
>If something seems odd… check it out. Don't just blow it off.
>Call in fires immediately
>Act! don't panic
Thanks for looking…. be safe out there.
As some of you know, I work at an industrial packaging plant and we now have 40,000 sq. ft dedicated to manufacturing crates and pallets (and another 9,000 sq. ft. for pallet repair/recycling).
Last night at 5:30 the dust collector for our panel shop (servicing a CNC router and an automated panel saw) caught on fire. The fire was first observed by a truck driver parking a trailer on our back lot, who had just seen the production manager 5 minutes before, so he called his cell. The production manager (who used to be a full time fire fighter) was the first on the scene. The flames were spouting out around the blow-out panels ~6 ft. in the air and were about to get into the eaves. He hit it with two dry chemical extinguishers and directed people to shut down the blower, which was still pumping air.
The fire was contained to the DC bag house when the fire dept. arrived. They popped the blow-out panels on the outboard side with a cordless impact driver and dowsed the innards with foam (AFFF to be precise).
IMO, the fire was very close to getting into the roof and if it had, we may have likely lost the building.
Oddly, the second person to become aware that something was off, was the panel saw operator, who could sense that the DC suction to the panel saw suddenly increased markedly. He was walking outside to look at the DC just as the production manager arrived on the scene.
Things that went wrong…
>Nobody checked the bags at shift turnover.
>The panel saw operator did not investigate why his DC suction was low and continued to operate his saw.
>The first fire alarm pull station actuated did NOT trigger the alarm.
>A fork truck driver came around the building a minute later and somewhat panicked, jumping off his truck while it was still in motion, to run get help.
>Production manager saw smoke coming over the building as he approached, yet didn't call 911 until he got there and observed the fire (though this is debatable).
>Access the the DC disconnect was obstructed by the flames and someone had to run back inside the building to shut down the unit.
Things that went right…
>Production manager kept his head, called 911, fought the fire with extinguishers and directed others. He probably saved the day.
>Fire department responded very quickly and promptly put out the fire in the bag house.
>We have working fire extinguishers in many locations and they are inspected monthly (actually inspected, the forms are not just checked off by someone in the office).
All things considered, I think we got lucky. The production manager was key to quickly getting the situation under control and he just happened to be at work late (well, he's always there late… he has a really sucky job).
This is the $8,200 temporary system that will be delivered tomorrow morning so we can keep the shop running.
It's a 20 HP Dustek 4-bag single stage system (for inside use). We have used several similar Dustek systems over the years and they are solid and robust.
It will keep us going until we can get our head wrapped around the permanent solution.
Lessons learned….
>Think safety in everything you do.
>Don't cut corners with your equipment or fire safety kit
>Know how to de-energize equipment quickly (label your breakers and know where they are)
>If something seems odd… check it out. Don't just blow it off.
>Call in fires immediately
>Act! don't panic
Thanks for looking…. be safe out there.