Develop Your Defensible Space

Wildland-Urban Interface

An interesting term that means where the homes meet the forest (wildland). It is this area that can become dangerous during the summer months, when there is a high threat of wildfire. This year the threat is higher due to the wet winter and the larger than normal amount of grasses and other fine fire fuels in the forest.

This year the threat may also be high in the Western Washington area, in addition to the already dry Eastern Washington area.

So what can you do?

The basic step is called developing a defensible space around your home or workplace. Things like using the zone concept of limiting the amount of flammable vegetation and materials surrounding the building and increasing the moisture content of remaining vegetation. The building itself and everything around it up to 100 – 200 feet is known as the ‘home ignition zone.’  In areas across the country where the risk of wildfire is high, the home ignition zone extends up to 200 feet beyond the actual home structure.

There is not enough space in this article to cover all that should be done, but there are several websites that can help you. One that I worked with in Chelan County is www.firewise.org where you can learn more about the zone concept under the Wildfire Preparedness tab.

If you live in an area that could be threatened by wildfire take a moment to check out the information and start developing your defensible space. You can’t wait until the last minute on this one.

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training Evergreen Safety Council

One of the Biggest Recognized Hazards and Twelve Things to Make Your Workplace More Safe

As safety professionals we look at all sorts of hazards and then do our best to either eliminate, control, or protect employees from those hazards.  Well, over the years, fire has been one of the biggest recognized hazards due to its frequency and the damage it can quickly cause.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), in 2015 there were 1,345,500 fires responded to in the United States. These fires caused 3,280 civilian deaths, 15,700 civilian injuries, and $14.3 billion in property damage.

According to the NFPA in 2015

• A fire department responded to a fire every 23 seconds.
• One structure fire was reported every 63 seconds.
• One home structure fire was reported every 86 seconds.
• One civilian fire injury was reported every 33.5 minutes.
• One civilian fire death occurred every 2 hours and 40 minutes.
• One outside and other fire was reported every 49 seconds.
• One highway vehicle fire was reported every 3 minutes 1 seconds.

Gives you the idea that fire safety is important and needs to be addressed in the workplace for employee safety.  In fact WAC 296-800-300 requires employers have fire extinguishers in the workplace and train employees in their use.

Twelve things to help make your workplace more fire safe:

1. Identify fire hazards around your workplace.  Gasoline and other flammable chemicals are common, but what about the clutter of paper or cardboard?
2. Practice good housekeeping, pick up clutter and don’t block fire exits.Designate smoking areas and ensure a place to extinguish smoking materials.
3. Train in fire safety and fire extinguisher use.
4. Report electrical hazards. Many fires start in faulty wiring and malfunctioning electrical equipment.
5. Maintain machinery and equipment.  Preventative maintenance can go a long way in preventing fires.
6. Keep fire sprinkler systems and smoke detectors in operating condition and remember to always keep sprinkler head free and clear of materials.
7. Use and store chemicals safely.
8. Control accumulations of flammable and combustible waste.
9. Prevent ignition sources in atmospheres that could be explosive.
10. Have a fire evacuation plan and ensure all employees know where to go when they evacuate.  
11. Post diagrams for exit locations and assembly areas.
12. Employees should have a list of emergency contact phone numbers that is written down.

Of course employee roles and responsibilities need to be assigned and trained before the emergency.  You need a written plan to form the basis and you need training to make it work.  There was once a great philosopher by the name of “Snoopy”  (yes the dog from Peanuts) that told his friend Woodstock that “ten minutes before the party is not the time to learn how to dance.”  In other words, you have to plan and train before it happens.

Fire and emergency planning can be difficult, but we can help, so give us a call today.

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training Evergreen Safety Council

Protection Measures Needed at Production Sites

Contributed by Eric C. Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council

Most of the time we talk about worker safety and so forth, but what about public safety and protection from litigation if someone goes on your property and gets hurt or killed? You do have some protection, but you better do what you can to keep unauthorized people off your property, especially if you have major hazards as the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has just reported.

CSB Report Finds that Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Facilities Present Hazards to Members of the Public, Especially Children; CSB Issues Recommendations to EPA, State Regulators, NFPA, and API Aimed at Increasing Oil Site Safety and Security.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released a new study of explosions at oil and gas production sites across the U.S., identifying 26 incidents since 1983 that killed 44 members of the public and injured 25 others under the age of 25, and is calling for new public protection measures at the sites.

The report examined in detail three explosions that occurred at oil and gas production facilities in Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas, that killed and injured members of the public between October 2009 and April 2010.

The CSB report found that children and young adults frequently socialize at oil sites in rural areas, unaware of the explosion hazards from storage tanks that contain flammable hydrocarbons like crude oil and natural gas condensate.

We made it out alive

Today at 8:15 am the building began to shake....fire alarms sounded...and various other emergencies were imagined. Staff members grabbed their coats (and coffees), and headed for our rally point at the back of our parking lot.

Evergreen Safety Council was participating in the Cascade Neighborhood Preparedness Project: Evacuation Drill. The purpose of the evacuation drill was to:

• Exercise our organizations’ building evacuation plans (as normally conducted on an annual basis)


• Gain greater awareness and understanding of evacuation plans across the neighborhood


• Improve emergency preparedness for our staff, individual organizations and the neighborhood

Has your organization held an evacuation drill in the past year? Being prepared is key to ensuring employee and visitor safety. If you can schedule an evacuation drill for your whole organization (as appropriate) great! If not, there is still great value in you or key leaders and facility staff walking through your plans –the more people from your organization that participate, the better - even if it is just a small representative group.

If you don't know where to start, ESC trainers can help. Contact Eric Tofte for more information.

All the pictures from this morning are posted on the Evergreen Safety Council Facebook page.

Stay safe!

UW Seminar to Commemorate 100th Anniversary of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

The UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) has organized a special seminar to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911. The tragic fire killed 146 garment workers and sparked a new era in regulation and labor activism focused on worker rights, health, and safety. The seminar is co-sponsored by the Harry Bridges Labor Center and the UW-Bothell Master of Arts in Policy Studies program.

Responding to Disasters in the Workplace:
Lessons from the Past, of the Present, and for the Future.
A symposium marking the 100th anniversary of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

Date: Thursday, March 31st
Time: 4:00pm-6:00pm
Location: South Campus Center, Room 316
Post Event Reception: South Campus Center, Room 354 (Crow's Nest)
More info: contact Sean Schmidt, 206-543-2837

Speakers:
The Past: Gerald Markowitz. "The Revolution in Workplace Safety and Health: The Triangle Fire and its Aftermath."
Gerald Markowitz is Distinguished Professor of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Together with David Rosner he has authored books and articles on the history of public health, environmental health, and occupational safety and health, including Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution (University of California Press, 2002).

The Present: Tom O'Connor. "Confronting the Anti-Regulatory Agenda: Current National Advocacy Campaigns to Advance Worker Health and Safety Protections."
Tom O’Connor is the Executive Director of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, the umbrella organization for 20 state and local “COSH” groups, or Coalitions on Occupational Safety and Health. He has over 20 years of experience working as an advocate for workers’ health and safety. He has been involved with the “COSH” groups since 1994. He also coordinates the national policy advocacy efforts of the Protecting Workers Alliance, a broad-based group of worker health and safety advocates.

The Future: Interdisciplinary panel of students from across UW, including DEOHS and the Harry Bridges Labor Center.

Award Winning Videos

Contributed by our Safety Intern Mary Czaja

Washington, DC, November 22, 2010 – The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) received awards for two safety videos at the annual Television, Internet, and Video Association of DC (TIVA DC) dinner on Saturday, November 13.

An animation depicting a massive sugar refinery explosion, which took 14 lives, won a gold award for best animation in its category. The animation appeared in a CSB safety video entitled Inferno: Dust Explosion at Imperial Sugar. Another CSB safety video, Combustible Dust: An Insidious Hazard was presented with the silver award for best educational/training video.

When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council
With summer time here, a lot of us like to travel to the Cascades and other outdoor areas to enjoy the wonders of the Pacific Northwest. Well, coming from the Chelan County area I know that come the middle to later part of July, thunder storms move in and lightning becomes a real issue for both fires and injuries to those caught out in the storm. Since June 20 – 26 is Lightning Safety Week we thought we would give some tips when you are outside during a lightning storm.

According to the National Weather Service: The lightning safety community reminds you that there is little you can do to substantially reduce your risk if you are outside in a thunderstorm. The only completely safe action is to get inside a safe building or vehicle.

So with that said, the weather service has a great website for lightning safety and if you want more information please check out their link.

fire extinguishers

Contributed by Norm Nyhuis, Consultant/Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Anytime of year is a good time to think about fire safety. Commercial structures are required to have portable fire extinguishers readily available. More important, the equipment must be checked monthly to insure it is ready for action, when needed. The following photos are good examples of how “NOT to do it”

I suppose the spiders were assigned the duty to perform the monthly check of the fire extinguishers?

Fire extinguishers should have a safety pin to prevent unintentional discharge. The pins are usually held in place with a little plastic “chain”. Someone got creative here and REALLY did not want the pin to come out. A comment about “tamper resistant” versus “user resistant” seems appropriate here.

Take a moment a check your fire extinguishers: is the pressure gauge reading in the “green” area or other wise indicates the pressure is where is should be? Is there any sign of leaking powder or other extinguishent? Mark the date of your inspection on the tag attached and then give your self a pat on the back for staring a good habit of monthly inspection of your fire extinguishers.

Holiday Safety Starts This Week

Turkey Safety
Hi there, well in just a few days it will be Thanksgiving (aka Turkey Day) and we know some of you will be deep frying that bird (which is really tasty when you add some Cajun spices.) But more importantly is that deep frying a turkey is DANGEROUS. The following are some recommendations from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

• Keep fryer in FULL VIEW while burner is on.
• Place fryer in an open area AWAY from all walls, fences, or other structures.
• Never use IN, ON, or UNDER a garage, breezeway, carport, porch, or any structure that can catch fire.
• Raise and lower food SLOWLY to reduce splatter and avoid burns.
• COVER bare skin when adding or removing food.
• Check the oil temperature frequently.
• If oil begins to smoke, immediately turn gas supply OFF.
• If a fire occurs, immediately call 911. DO NOT attempt to extinguish fire with water.

For safest operation, CPSC recommends that consumers follow these guidelines as they prepare to use a turkey fryer:

• Make sure there is at least 2 feet of space between the liquid propane tank and fryer burner.
• Place the liquid propane gas tank and fryer so that any wind blows the heat of the fryer away from the gas tank.
• Center the pot over the burner on the cooker.
• Completely thaw (USDA says 24 hours for every 4 to 5 pounds) and dry turkey before cooking. Partially frozen and/or wet turkeys can produce excessive hot oil splatter when added to the oil.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions to determine the proper amount of oil to add. If those are not available:

-Place turkey in pot
-Fill with water until the turkey is covered by about 1/2 inch of water
-Remove and dry turkey
-Mark water level. Dump water, dry the pot, and fill with oil to the marked level.

From us at Evergreen, Happy Thanksgiving and stay safe in no matter what you are doing this holiday season.

Fire Safety Tips for the Holiday Season
November 24 – 30, 2009 is Canadian National Home Fire Safety Week and below are some great holiday safety tips, no matter which side of the boarder you live on.

With the fun filled holiday season quickly approaching comes a need to take safety precautions around the home. Whether it is ensuring the Christmas tree is properly watered, to hanging fire-safe ornaments, to not overloading electrical outlets, there are a number of steps Canadians can take to avoid a holiday disaster.

Both the Evergreen Safety Council and Canada Safety Council encourages everyone to take every precaution to ensure the holiday season is one that is safe and happy.

A very important holiday tip that should be followed all year long is to make sure that smoke alarms are working and that there is one on every level of the house. Single level homes and apartments should have smoke alarms near the kitchen and all sleeping areas.
Here are a few simple safety tips to keep your home fire-safe during the holidays:

The Christmas Tree

• When purchasing a real tree, check for freshness by tapping it on the ground – dropping needles, indicate a dry, highly flammable tree. Needles should be hard to pull from branches and when bent between your fingers, they do not break.
• When purchasing an artificial tree, make sure it’s ‘fire resistant.’ Although this label does not mean the tree won't catch fire, the tree will resist burning and should extinguish quickly.
• Place your tree away from fireplaces and radiators. Also, heated rooms dry out fresh trees, so be sure to keep the stand filled with water by topping it up daily.
• Never use lighted candles on or near the tree.
• Remove a real tree within 10 to 14 days; otherwise it can start to dry out and pose a fire hazard.

The Fireplace

• Ensure the chimney flue is open and clean before you light a fire.
• Remove all decorations that could be burned around the fireplace, such as stockings.
• Always use a screen in front of the fireplace to protect against flying sparks.
• Do not burn wrapping papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result, as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely.
• Never leave the fire unattended or let it smoulder.
• Do not use Christmas trees for firewood. Only use seasoned and dried wood.

Decorations

• Choose decorations that are fire-resistant, non-combustible and non-conductive.
• Avoid using tinsel together with spray-on snowflakes. This combination is highly combustible.
• Do not use metallic ornaments on the tree. If they make contact with defective wiring they could become a shock hazard.

Lights

• Use Canadian Standards Association (CSA) approved lights. Place indoor and outdoor lights in their respective environments.
• New or old, check light strings for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections, and throw out damaged sets. Make sure you do this before putting lights up. It is much easier to replace bulbs on the ground, than on the roof.
• Do not use electric light strings/sets on metallic trees. A faulty system could energize the tree and shock or electrocute anyone coming into contact.
• Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house. The lights could short out and start a fire.
• Do not overload electrical outlets, and never string more than three sets of lights per single extension cord.

Candles

• Never leave burning candles unattended, and always keep out of reach of children.
• Keep candles in sturdy holders on a stable surface, well away from curtains, trees or any other potentially flammable objects.
• Put out all candles before leaving the room or going to sleep.

The Kitchen

• Never leave your cooking unattended.
• Avoid wearing loose clothing while cooking.
• Make sure items that can catch fire, such as paper towels, are kept away from the stove.
• Use a timer to remind you that the stove or oven is on when roasting or baking food.
• In case of a fire, never turn on the overhead fan – this could spread the fire.
• If a fire starts and can’t be quickly put out, leave your home and immediately call the fire department from a safe location.

Remember to have a working smoke alarm on each level of your house. Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Generator Use Safety

With winter time right around the corner, there is always the chance of loosing power due to a storm. We know that some of you have generators, so here are some tips for you to remember if you loose power and use a generator.

1. Before installing a generator, be sure to properly disconnect from your utility electrical service. If possible, have your generator installed by a qualified electrician with a transfer switch.
2. Run generators outside, downwind of structures. NEVER run a generator indoors. Deadly carbon monoxide gas from the generators exhaust can spread throughout enclosed spaces. Install a carbon monoxide detector.
3. Fuel spilled on a hot generator can cause an explosion. If your generator has a detachable fuel tank remove it before refilling. If this is not possible, shut off the generator and let it cool before refilling.
4. Do not exceed the rated capacity of your generator. Most of the small, home-use portable generators produce from 350 to 12,000 watts of power. Overloading your generator can damage it, the appliances connected to it, and may cause a fire. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
5. Keep children away from generators at all times.

Do you have experience using a genereator during the winter months? What tips would you add to this list?

Smell Smoke? Get Out!

This fall, a number of fires have plagued the Northwest. In Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, 14 fires have occurred since June, striking both residential and commercial buildings. Just yesterday an elementary school fire in Portland, Oregon resulted in a school-wide evacuation. Over 400 students stood outside and watched as half of their school nearly burned to the ground.

Luckily, no one has died as a result of these fires. In the case of Marysville Elementary, two staff members were hospitalized for minor respiratory problems, while the rest of the staff and all of the students remained unharmed, thanks to a sound emergency plan that was quickly and effectively followed as soon as the fire alarm went off. Evergreen Safety Council applauds those in charge of implementing this plan. Because of them, many lives were saved.

Take a moment this week to assess your own emergency escape plan, in case a fire should occur. Remember:
*It’s good to practice your escape plan every month.
*If possible, plan two ways out of each room.
*Immediately leave your home when a fire occurs.
*Never open doors that are hot to the touch.
*Designate a meeting location that is away from your home, school or office.
*Once you’re out, stay out!

For more information on fire safety, visit Firesafety.gov or sign up to receive Evergreen Safety Council’s newsletter, Safety & Health Solutions, for tips on a variety of safety issues.

Click here to read more about the Greenwood arsons: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010242558_webarsonreward10m.html.