Chapter 7

Preventive and preparatory measures

It is important to invest in preventive and preparatory measures that generally lower
the risk of fires and, in the event of a fire occurring, minimize risks and consequences
for personnel and the plant itself. The requirement of carrying out such tasks is in
Sweden stipulated in the Swedish Work Environment Authority’s r egulations
AFS2003:3, titled ”Work in environments with high risk of e xplosion”, and in the
Civil Protection Act (LSO).

The Civil Protection Act (SFS 2003:778) "Owners or users of buildings or other
facilities much appropriately maintain fire extinguishing equipment and lifesaving
equipment for fires or other accidents and otherwise carry out the measures required
to prevent fire and prevent or limit injuries and damage caused by fire "

Below are some examples of measures that may be appropriate. Priority for these
must be based on judgments at each respective plant since a number of factors affect
the risk situation, i.e. the size and complexity of the plant, type of material being
handled and stored, handling system (e.g. conveyors, processing equipment etc.)
before and after the silo, maximum storage period in the silo, and the effects of
unplanned downtime .

Risk assessment in accordance with AFS 2003:3

is relevant to ,2003:3 The Swedish Work Environment Authority’s regulations, AFS

all facilities ”...in which an employee could be ex-posed to danger caused by an
explosive atmosphere in buildings, enclosures equipment or other technical devices
and in work p laces in general where an explosive atmosphere may occur "

This means that the regulations basically cover all silo facilities In §7 of the
regulations, the requirement is established that a documented risk assessment must be
established by a person with appropriate education and expertise.

The risk assessment must include an inventory that includes explosion characteristics
of handled material, existing ignition sources, probability that an explosive
environment will arise, the extent of such area and the ignition probability and
consequences thereof.

The risk assessment should also include, "appropriate extinguishing agent and
extinguishing methods in the event of a fire in order to prevent an explosion "

In the comments to §7, silos are explicitly mentioned according to the following: "In
the event of smouldering fires in silos or other equipment, it is important to have a
plan established for extinguishing the fire. Otherwise, there is a high risk that
equipment or buildings will burst when large amount of water is applied or that an
explosion occurs when the smouldering fire is exposed "

In practice, this means that it is very important to prepare

for an extinguishing operation so that the fire & rescue service

are not facing an unreasonable task. It is also very important

to involve the fire & rescue service in establishing such an

operational plan for different fire scenarios. This will facilitate

invaluable knowledge sharing regarding the construction and

processes of the plant, and an understanding of emergency

.work and, above all, the limitations thereof

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There are two main scenarios for a silo fire, self-heating resulting in spontaneous
ignition or some ”external” ignition source which could result in a number of different
types of fires .

Spontaneous ignition

When storing biogenic material such as sawdust, wood pellets etc., self-heating might
occur inside the material. This may be due to microbiological activity, chemical
oxidation processes moisture migration, moisture absorption or a combination