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Sparks, covers, and tanks

Sparks, covers, and tanks

Fire and hot work 5 min 29 CFR 1926.352

Welding

Why it matters

Hot work throws sparks that land in trash, rags, and cracks you did not look at. Move or cover what can burn, and keep an extinguisher where you can reach it. A drum or a hollow tank that held a flammable or toxic material has to be made safe before anyone welds or cuts it.

The talk

Hot work is welding, cutting, or grinding that throws sparks. Sparks do not stay on the bead. They bounce, they roll, and they drop into cracks, into trash, and onto rags. Before you strike an arc or start a grinder, move what can burn. If you cannot move it, cover it with a cover that will not catch fire, the way this site covers combustibles. Look on the other side of the wall and on the floor below. A spark that slips through a gap lands on a pile you cannot see from the weld. A fire extinguisher is right there, close enough that you do not have to hunt for it.

Moving or covering what can burn, with the extinguisher at hand, is the normal precaution. If that is not enough for this spot, extra people are assigned to watch for fire during the work. They are not there to run a second errand. They watch the sparks, the floor, the rags, and the other side of the wall. If the site assigns you that job, you stay on it while the sparks are flying. You do not leave to grab a clamp and hope someone else is looking. If nobody has been assigned and you can see the precautions are not enough, stop. Tell the foreman before you light up.

Drums and hollow tanks need more than a look. If a drum or a hollow tank held a flammable material or a toxic material, it is filled with water, or it is cleaned, vented, and tested, before anyone welds or cuts it. That is 1926.352. You do not decide by the smell that the tank is fine. You do not weld it because it has been sitting empty. A closed tank is worse. Heat builds pressure, and fumes have nowhere to go. Do not weld on a closed tank. Do not cut on a closed tank. If it is not open, not vented, and not cleared, put the torch down and get the foreman.

Key points

  1. Hot work is welding, cutting, or grinding that throws sparks.
  2. Move what can burn, or cover it, before you start.
  3. Keep a fire extinguisher where you can reach it.
  4. Look on the other side of the wall and below the work.
  5. If normal precautions are not enough, extra people watch for fire during the work.
  6. A drum or hollow tank that held flammable or toxic material is filled with water or cleaned, vented, and tested first.
  7. Do not weld or cut on a closed tank.

Do this

  • Move or cover what can burn before you strike an arc or grind.
  • Keep an extinguisher at the hot work, not back at the trailer.
  • Check the far side of the wall and the floor below.
  • Stay on a fire watch if you were assigned one during the work.
  • Fill, or clean, vent, and test a used drum or hollow tank before hot work.

Do not do this

  • Do not start hot work with rags, trash, or open combustibles in the sparks.
  • Do not leave the extinguisher somewhere you have to search for it.
  • Do not walk off a fire-watch assignment while sparks are still flying.
  • Do not weld a used tank because it smells empty.
  • Do not weld or cut on a closed tank.

Talk about it

  1. What on this job can burn, and what will we move or cover before the next hot work?
  2. Where is the extinguisher for the hot work we have today?
  3. Which drums or tanks on this site still need to be filled, or cleaned, vented, and tested?

This is a short crew briefing. It does not replace a competent person, training, or the law.

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