Pre-Planning Electric Generating Stations
BY ERIC DORBECK
Electric generating stations are remotely located and typically very well protected. They normally have an on-site trained fire brigade and usually can mitigate a minor incident on their own. However, when things go wrong at an electric generating station, the local fire department is called. Will your department be ready to respond to such a call? Do you understand the hazards and other unique features of the generating station? If not, a bad situation will turn disastrous very quickly. Thus, preplanning is very important.
Electric generating stations are large and noisy and contain a variety of hazards, including flammable/combustible liquids, flammable gases, high voltage, high pressures and temperatures, rotating equipment, moving belts, miles of cables, extreme heights, and hazardous chemicals. This may sound unnerving, but remember that the employees at the station work there safely. They can do this because they understand and respect what is happening around them, just as your department does when fighting a fire. Preplanning can help your department understand all that is in an electric generating station.
INFORMATION GATHERING
Start your preplan by establishing as your main contact one person from the station. Most stations assign one person to be in charge of fire protection. This person would be more than willing to meet and talk with you. Next, the chief and training officer should meet with the designated station contact to share concerns, questions, and ideas. Tour the station and site to get a feel for what`s there. Details will come later.
After the tour, you will have many more questions. The following information, available from the station, may answer some of those questions.
Diagrams of the site and station showing water lines, hydrants, post indicator valves (PIVs), and buildings. Insurance drawings are excellent resources, as are the station piping and instrumentation drawings (P&IDs).
Floor plans of the station showing major equipment; protected areas; and locations of control valves, standpipes, stairs, access doors, and so on.
Water supply information: fire pump size(s), water source, drafting locations, fire department connections.
A list of hazardous materials (including PCBs) and their locations.
Locations containing high voltages.
A determination of whether hydrant and standpipe threads are compatible with fire department threads.
This list is not complete; specific questions will emerge after the initial tour.
Once you have gathered and somewhat digested the information, develop working procedures that detail who has what responsibilities during a fire or other emergency. As stated earlier, at most stations, a fire brigade will be fighting the fire when you arrive. To ensure a smooth transition, develop firefighting procedures and establish command responsibilities.
Station personnel know the plant and how it works. Fire departments know how to fight fires. Together, both groups can successfully fight a station fire. One approach is to have a station employee–such as the shift supervisor–assigned to meet the chief and stay with him throughout the firefighting effort. This individual runs the station while on duty and usually will be the brigade leader. The chief and station representative together will determine how to fight the fire. The station representative can tell what equipment is running, what cannot be shut down, and areas that should not be sprayed with water; he can also direct the orderly shutdown of equipment. The chief can determine the resources needed and the method of attack. The two should work as a team.
Since there are usually five shifts at the station, make sure you get the name of a contact for each shift.
PREPLAN CONSIDERATIONS
Access to the site is a primary area to be addressed in an emergency preplan. Will the gate be open or locked? Who will escort the fire department to the fire? How will security on-site be notified of the pending arrival of the fire department?
Another area of concern is communications. Can station personnel talk to fire personnel on radios? Is the frequency the same? Will radios work in the noise and when surrounded by steel? One idea is to obtain a site radio and keep it ready for response to the station.
Once specific details have been determined, tour the site with plant representatives. Use a regular training session for this tour. Plan on being on the site for several hours for the first tour and to make several visits thereafter. The site contact should conduct the tour. (If a member of the fire department is also an employee of the station, use the member as a resource also.) Drive around the site. Find the hydrants and the means of access; learn the names of the buildings. Go inside the station and look around. Think about how you would have to lay hose to the hazards. The station contact can explain what is going on inside and identify the equipment.
An important consideration is the inherent electrical hazards in the facility. Establish how power will be cut off to affected units and how this deenergization will be verified.
The key to a successful preplan is to develop a good working relationship with the station contact. Work closely with him. The station contact and the fire chief both will have a lot of work to do in finalizing the procedures. Frequent tours are a must. Try to get all department members into the station at least once a year.
Once the preplans have been developed, try them out. Hold joint drills with the site fire brigade. The chief or training officer should work with the station contact to develop the scenarios. Start small; work up to something complicated. Learn from each drill. Improve the plans as weaknesses are found during the drills.
Electric generating stations can be intimidating at first. However, hard work, close cooperation with the station contact, and regular tours can make them manageable.
Most generating stations will welcome the chance to work with the fire department to develop fire or other emergency preplans. Make the call. Visit the site, start the ball rolling. The safety of the fire department members and the welfare of the station depend on it. n
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(Left) Generating plant site. (Photos courtesy of Consumers Energy.) (Right) Coal-fired power plant.
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(Left) Process/equipment control panel. (Right) Air compressor.
ERIC DORBECK has been a fire protection engineer at Consumers Energy (formerly Consumers Power) in Michigan for the past 19 years. He is a registered engineer in the state of Michigan and chairman of the Edison Electric Institute (a national association of investor-owned utilities) Fire Protection Task Force.
