Alert 10 – 10 Welding Operation Results in a Fire
Alert 10 – 10 Welding Operation Results in a Fire
WHAT HAPPENED:
The rig was in the shipyard for upgrades and repair. At the time of the fire, the shipyard crew was preparing leg #3 chord-B for the installation of an additional section of leg. The shipyard crew was working inside a welding tent that was made of lightweight tarps. The workers were grinding the mating surface of the leg when sparks created by the grinder ignited the tent surrounding the leg. The shipyard fire watchman attempted to extinguish the fire using the dry powder fire extinguisher while the fire fighting team connected the main deck fire hose to the manifold and sent it up to him. Once the fire watchman had the hose, the Crane Operator (Fire Team Leader) opened the fire hydrant valve on the main deck. He found that there was no water pressure at the hydrant so he went down to the Rig Engineer’s area and manually opened the fresh water pump valve linking it to the fire manifold on the main deck. With water to the hose, the fire was successfully extinguished.