Table Of ContentGUIDELINES FOR
Fire Protection in Chemical,
Petrochemical, and Hydrocarbon
Processing Facilities
Center for Chemical Process Safety
of the
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
3 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5991
Copyright © 2003
American Institute of ChemicalEnginers
3 Park Avenue
New York, New York 10016-5991
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
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prior express written consent of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. To obtain
appropriate license and permission for such use contact Scott Berger, 212-591-7237,
[email protected].
CCPSPublication Number G-83
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guidelines for fire protection in chemical, petrochemical, and
hydrocarbon processing facilities.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8169-0898-2 (Hardcover)
1. Chemical plants—Fires and fire prevention. 2. Chemicals—Fires
and fire prevention. I. American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Center for Chemical Process Safety. II. Title.
TH9445.C47G85 2003
660’.2804—dc22
2003017934
It is sincerely hoped that the information presented in this volume will lead to an even more impressive safety
record for the entire industry. However, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, its consultants,CCPS
Subcommittee members, their employers, and their employers’ officers and directors andRRSEngineering
disclaim making or giving any warranties or representations, express or implied, including with respect to
fitness, intended purpose, use or merchantability, and/or correctness or accuracy of the content of the
information presented in this document. As between (1) American Institute of Chemical Engineers, its
consultants,CCPSSubcommittee members, their employers, and their employers’ officers and directors and
RRSEngineering (2) the user of this document acceptsany legal liability or responsibility whatsoever for the
consequences of its use or misuse.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
PREFACE
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has helped chemical
plants,petrochemicalplants,andrefineriesaddresstheissuesofprocesssafety
andlosscontrolforover30years.Throughitstieswithprocessdesigners,plant
constructors,facilityoperators,safetyprofessionals,andacademia,theAIChE
has enhanced communication and fostered improvement in the high safety
standardsoftheindustry.AIChE’spublicationsandsymposiahavebecomean
informationresourceforthechemicalengineeringprofessiononthecausesof
incidents and means of prevention.
The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), a directorate of AIChE,
wasestablishedin1985todevelopanddisseminatetechnicalinformationfor
useinthepreventionofmajorchemicalaccidents.TheCCPSissupportedbya
diverse group of industrial sponsors in the chemical process industry and
related industries who provide the necessary funding and professional guid-
anceforitsprojects.TheCCPSTechnicalSteeringCommitteeandthetechni-
cal subcommittees oversee individual projects selected by the CCPS.
Professional representatives from sponsoring companies staff the subcommit-
tees and a member of theCCPSstaff coordinates their activities.
Sinceitsfounding,theCCPS haspublishedmanyvolumesinits“Guide-
lines” series and in smaller “Concept” texts. Although most CCPS books are
writtenforengineersinplantdesignandoperationsandaddressscientifictech-
niques and engineering practices,several guidelines cover subjects related to
chemical process safety management. A successful process safety program
reliesuponcommittedmanagersatalllevelsofacompanywhoviewprocess
safetyasanintegralpartofoverallbusinessmanagementandactaccordingly.
A team of fire protection experts from the chemical industry drafted the
chaptersforthisguidelineandprovidedrealworldexamplestoillustratesome
xv
xvi Preface
ofthetoolsandmethodsusedintheirprofession.Thesubcommitteemembers
reviewed the content extensively and industry peers evaluated this book to
help ensure it represents a factual accounting of industry best practices.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The American Institute of Chemical Engineers wishes to thank the Center for
ChemicalProcessSafety(CCPS)andthoseinvolvedinitsoperation,including
itsmanysponsorswhosefundingmadethisprojectpossible;themembersofits
Technical Steering Committee who conceived of and supported this Guide-
lines project, and the members of its Fire Protection Subcommittee.
If this Guideline prevents one chemical, petrochemical, or hydrocarbon
processingfacilityfire,theeffortsofallthoseinvolvedinpreparingthisworkwill
be deeply recognized and rewarded.
The members of theCCPSFire Protection Subcommittee were:
Robert M. Rosen, Chair,BASF Corporation
Siegfried Fiedler,BASF Corporation
GeneHortz,Rohm & Haas Company
Duncan L.Hutcheon,ExxonMobil
JoelKrueger, BP Amoco
JohnSepahpur,ChevronTexacoEnergy Research & Technology Company
JohnSharland,FM Global
William A.Thornberg,Industrial Risk Insurers
Della Wong,AonReedStenhouse
JeffreyYuill,Starr Technical Risks Agency, Inc.
JohnDavenportwastheCCPSstaffliaisonandwasresponsibleforoverall
administration of the project. Additional contributors to the subcommittee
were Charles E.Fryman,FMC,and Dave Moore,Acutech.
Risk, Reliability and Safety Engineering (RRS), of League City, Texas
(www.rrseng.com) was contracted to write this guideline. The principal RRS
authors of this guideline were:
xvii
xviii Acknowledgments
John Alderman, PE, CSP
BillEffron, CSP
ChristyFranklyn
Tim McNamara
AdditionalRRSstaffthatsupportedthisprojectincludesDonnaHamilton,
Marlon Harding, Ted Low, and Tom Lawrence.
DanielT.Gottuk,PhDandJosephScheffey,PEofHughesAssociateswere
the primary authors of Chapter 5.
CCPSwouldliketothankBudSlye,PE,LossControlAssociates,whopro-
vided technical quality review.
CCPS also gratefully acknowledges the comments and suggestions
receivedfromthefollowingpeerreviewers;theirinsights,comments,andsug-
gestions helped ensure a balanced perspective to this Guideline:
Dr.EzikpeAkuma,New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
ReginaldBaldini,New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Michael P.Broadribb,BP America, Inc.
Keith L. Farmer,DuPontEngineering Technologies
Les Fowler,BASF Corporation
EricLenoir,AIU-Energy
Darren Martin,Shell Chemical Company
Lisa M. Morrison,NOVA Chemicals, Inc.
Dave Owen,Exxon-Mobil
AsitRay,New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
ThomasScherpa,DuPontEngineering Technologies
MiltWooldridge,MRW& Associates, Inc.
The members of the CCPS Fire Protection Subcommittee and the peer
reviewerswishtothanktheiremployersforallowingthemtoparticipateinthis
project.
ACRONYMS
ALARP As low as reasonably practical
AIChE AmericanInstituteofChemicalEngineers
AISC AmericanInstituteofSteelConstruction
AHJ AuthorityHavingJurisdiction
ANSI AmericanNationalStandardsInstitute
API AmericanPetroleumInstitute
BI Business Interruption
BLEVE BoilingLiquidExpandingVaporExplosion
CCPS CenterforChemicalProcessSafety
CFD ComputationalFluidDynamics
CFR CodeofFederalRegistry
CMPT CenterforMarineandPetroleumTechnology
DCS DistributedControlSystem
DOT DepartmentofTransportation
EANS Emergency Alarm Notification System
EHS Environmental,Health,andSafety
EOC EmergencyOperationsCenter
EPA EnvironmentalProtectionAgency
ERP EmergencyResponsePlan
ERT EmergencyResponseTeam
FCC FluidCatalyticCracking(Unit)
FHA FireHazardAnalysis
FMEA FailureModeandEffectsAnalysis
FM Factory Mutual
FPS FireProtectionStrategy
FRP FiberglassReinforcedPlastic
GRP GlassReinforcedPlastic
xix
xx Acronyms
HVAC Heating,Ventilating,andAirConditioning
HAZID HazardIdentification
HAZOP HazardandOperabilityStudy
HSSD HighSensitivitySmokeDetection
HAZMAT HazardousMaterial
ICS IncidentCommandSystem
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
I/O Input/Ouput
IR Industrial Risk
LEPC LocalEmergencyPlanningCommittee
LFL LowerFlammabilityLimit
LOPA LayerofProtectionAnalysis
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
MERITT MaximizingEHSReturns by Integrating Tools and Talents
MFL Maximum Foreseeable Loss
MOC Management of Change
MSDS MaterialSafetyDataSheet
NICET National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies
NFPA NationalFireProtectionAssociation
NLE NormalLossEstimate
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration
OSHA OccupationalSafetyHazardAssociation
P&ID PipingandInstrumentationDrawing
PC PersonalComputer
PDA PersonalDigitalAssistant
PE Professional Engineer
PHA ProcessHazardAnalysis
PML ProbableMaximumLoss
PFD ProcessFlowDiagrams
PPE PersonalProtectiveEquipment
PSM ProcessSafetyManagement
PVC PolyvinylChloride
RMS RiskManagementSystem
RP RecommendedPractice
RVP ReidVaporPressure
SFPE SocietyofFireProtectionEngineers
SI StandardInstrumentation
SIS SafetyInstrumentedSystem
UFL UpperFlammabilityLimit
UL UnderwritersLaboratories
UK UnitedKingdom
VCE VaporCloudExplosion
CONTENTS
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xvii
Acronyms xix
1
Introduction
1.1. Scope 2
1.2. Who Will Benefit from This Guideline? 3
1.2.1. WhatIsFireProtection? 5
1.2.2. Examples 5
1.3. Relation to OtherCCPSGuidelines and Resources 5
2
Management Overview
2.1. Management Commitment 7
2.2. Integration with Other Management Systems 8
2.3. Balancing Protection 8
2.4. Cost-Benefit 9
v
vi Contents
3
Fire Protection Strategy
3.1. Key Factors in a Fire Protection Strategy 11
3.1.1. AcceptableLoss 13
3.1.2. CostofFires 14
3.1.3. InsuranceCoverage 16
3.1.4. InstalledSystemsversusEmergencyResponse 18
3.1.5. PrescriptiveversusPerformance-BasedDesign 20
3.2. Developing a Fire Protection Strategy 21
3.3. Integration with Other Management Systems 23
3.4. Integration with theLifecycleof a Facility 23
3.4.1. Design 24
3.4.2. ConstructionandCommissioning 26
3.4.3. Operations 28
3.4.4. Decommissioning 28
4
Overview of Fire Prevention Elements
4.1. Audit Program 30
4.1.1. TheAuditProcess 30
4.1.2. QualificationsandStaffing 31
4.1.3. FrequencyofAudits 31
4.1.4. ApplicationtoFireProtection 32
4.2. Layout and Spacing 32
4.3. Control of Ignition Sources 33
4.3.1. ElectricalAreaClassification 33
4.3.2. PersonalIgnitionSources 33
4.3.3. HotWork 34
4.3.4. StaticElectricity 35
4.4. Employee Training 36
4.5. Housekeeping 37
4.5.1. HousekeepingProgram 37
4.5.2. ProcessAreaHousekeeping 38
4.5.3. DustControl 39
4.5.4. InappropriateStorageandHandling 39
4.5.5. HousekeepingandEquipment 40
4.5.6. CleaningMaterials 40
