Our safety talk today is about a 37-year-old field mechanic
who died when he tried to stoke a warming fire with gasoline.
The victim and a coworker were at a logging site to work on
a log-loading machine.
The weather was cold and rainy. The coworker started a
warming fire with diesel fuel and chainsaw gasoline.
He left for about 15 minutes and came back to find the
victim lying 35 feet from the warming fire engulfed in flames.
There was another fire about 20 feet from the warming fire
that was later found to be a burning 5-gallon plastic gasoline container.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene from severe
thermal injuries.
So here are some ways
we can prevent something like this from happening where we work.
Never use gasoline
or raw fuel near an open flame.
Make sure to use
the correct materials to safely start and stoke a fire. For example, use a
drip-torch with a mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline (ratio 3:1 or 4:1).
Management and I
must make sure that employees understand that when pouring gasoline on an
existing fire, a flame can travel up the stream into the container and explode.
Management and I
must train employees on the hazards and safe procedures for starting and
stoking fires.
Questions to ask
“What other precautions do we need to take when handling
gasoline?”
“What would you do if you are outdoors and it gets cold and
rainy?”
Discuss a similar situation and what employees can do.
Express your commitment to providing materials needed for
the work environment.
Commit to follow-up at the next safety talk.