Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-155 - Safety standards for construction work › Part H - WELDING AND CUTTING › Section 296-155-410 - Fire prevention

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1)
				When practical, you must move objects to be welded, cut, or heated to a
				designated safe location or, if the objects to be welded, cut, or heated cannot
				be readily moved, you must take all movable fire hazards in the vicinity to a
				safe place, or otherwise protected.
(2) If the object to be welded, cut, or
				heated cannot be moved and if all the fire hazards cannot be removed, you must
				take positive means to confine the heat, sparks, and slag, and to protect the
				immovable fire hazards from them.
(3) You must not perform any welding,
				cutting, or heating where the application of flammable paints, or the presence
				of other flammable compounds, or heavy dust concentrations creates a
				hazard.
(4) You must ensure that
				suitable fire extinguishing equipment is immediately available in the work area
				and you must maintain it in a state of readiness for instant use.
(5) When the welding, cutting, or heating
				operation is such that normal fire prevention precautions are not sufficient,
				you must assign additional personnel to guard against fire while the actual
				welding, cutting, or heating operation is being performed, and for a sufficient
				period of time after completion of the work to ensure that no possibility of
				fire exists. You must instruct such personnel as to the specific anticipated
				fire hazards and how the firefighting equipment provided is to be
				used.
(6) When welding, cutting, or
				heating is performed on walls, floors, and ceilings, since direct penetration
				of sparks or heat transfer may introduce a fire hazard to an adjacent area, you
				must take the same precautions on the opposite side as are taken on the side on
				which the welding is being performed.
(7) For the elimination of possible fire in
				enclosed spaces as a result of gas escaping through leaking or improperly
				closed torch valves, you must positively shut off the gas supply to the torch
				at some point outside the enclosed space whenever the torch is not to be used
				or whenever the torch is left unattended for a substantial period of time, such
				as during the lunch period. Overnight and at the change of shifts, you must
				remove the torch and hose from the confined space. You must immediately remove
				open end fuel gas and oxygen hoses from enclosed spaces when they are
				disconnected from the torch or other gas-consuming device.
(8) Except when the contents are being
				removed or transferred, you must keep drums, pails, and other containers, which
				contain or have contained flammable liquids, closed. You must remove empty
				containers to a safe area apart from hot work operations or open
				flames.
(9) Drums, containers, or
				hollow structures which have contained toxic or flammable substances must,
				before welding, cutting, or heating is undertaken on them, either be filled
				with water or thoroughly cleaned of such substances and ventilated and tested.
				For welding, cutting and heating on steel pipelines containing natural gas, the
				pertinent portions of regulations issued by the Department of Transportation,
				Office of Pipeline Safety, Minimum Federal Safety Standards for Gas Pipelines
				apply. (49 C.F.R. Part 192, Subpart C.)
(10) Before heat is applied to a drum,
				container, or hollow structure, you must provide a vent or opening for the
				release of any built-up pressure during the application of heat.
Order 74-26, § 296-155-410, filed 5/7/74, effective
					 6/6/74.