Another very successful MPA Lime Health and Safety Working Group workshop took place in early June on the topic of Fire – prevention, detection, response.  Valuable sharing of experiences included major fires which disrupted normal production and required special efforts to successfully maintain lime product supplies. 

The shared incidents included a fire caused by an electrical fault, that was made worse through the fire causing hydraulic system leaks, which shut down a lime kiln for many months, and another fire where a compressor failure and storage of combustible products, combined to destroy a production site building.  These incidents, fortunately with no injuries or loss of life, showed the devastation that fires can bring and the associated costs and risk to a business’s ability to supply customers through unplanned, extended interruptions to production.  

The workshop also looked at new technology and equipment that provide new ways to prevent, detect and respond to fires. The sharing included:

• New fire extinguishers for rechargeable battery fires
• AI to monitor video feeds and detect temperature changes, flames and smoke
• Wireless emergency communications call points for large sites

There were also very constructive discussions about experiences with crisis manuals and management of incidents which, it was agreed, need to have regular run-throughs in mock events, to maintain awareness and familiarity with rarely used procedures, as well as providing training opportunities for new team members.