attachment-3-rfp-des-2026-13.pdf

FACT SHEET

HOT WORK SAFETY

Hot work fres result in avoidable death, injury, and hundreds of millions of dollars in property loss each year. When everyone follows safe hot-work practice, these fres are preventable.

The risk with hot work is high because it introduces a hazard—an ignition source. That’s why the number one safety recommendation is to determine whether there is an alternative to hot work and by avoiding hot work, you minimize the risk.

What Is Hot Work?

• Work involving burning, welding, or a similar operation that is capable of initiating fres or explosions.

• Activity involving fame, spark production, or heat.

• Welding and allied processes include arc welding, oxy–fuel gas welding, open-fame soldering, brazing, thermal spraying, oxygen cutting, and arc cutting.

Hot Work Hazards Hot work has the potential to unite all three parts of the fre triangle: oxygen, fuel, and an ignition source.

Oxygen is present in the ambient air. Unsafe practices involving pure oxygen can cause oxygen enrichment (over 22 percent by volume) in the workplace.

Fuel includes anything that can be ignited. Examples of common fuels include the following:

• Construction materials such as wood, plastic, insulation, roofng materials, including those in concealed spaces

• Flammable and combustible liquids or gases such as fuel, paint, cleaning solvents

• Simple combustibles such as rags, paper, cardboard, lumber, furnishings

Ignition sources can be as simple as the hot work itself.

Ignition results when any heat source sufcient to ignite a fuel does so. It can occur through the direct or indirect application of heat. Direct application of heat includes: welding, cutting and burning. Indirect application includes heat conducted through metal surfaces to fuel sources on the other side (e.g., through to the other side of a bulkhead) and sparks travelling to a distant fuel source (e.g., to a pool of liquid or other combustible material).

Civilian deaths are caused per year from these fres

Civilian injuries are caused per year from these fres

4,630 Structure fres involving hot work per year

Of the fres involving hot work…

57% were in or on non-home properties

43% were in or on homes

*These statistics do not include near miss fre events from improper hot work. Near miss events include those where the fre department was not contacted because the fre watch dealt with the fre event, or those where no open fre resulted but there was localized scorched or charred material following improperly performed hot work.

HOT WORK DANGER: FACTS AND FIGURES

When looking at data from 2013-2017, it is clear just how dangerous hot work can be to the public as well as to frst responders. The 2019 NFPA report, “Structure Fires Caused by Hot Work,” found the following statistics.*

$355M In direct property damage results from these fres per year

Number of frefghter fatalities (between 2001–2018)

Case Study: Partnering for Safety

• In March of 2014, a fre in Boston, MA, took the lives of fre fghter Michael Kennedy and Lieutenant Edward Walsh.

The cause of the fre was determined to be unpermitted welding, where the workers did not take factors such as high winds and nearby combustible material into account.

• The city of Boston responded by passing an ordinance requiring individuals in certain roles to obtain a hot work safety certifcate. The Boston Fire Department and City of Boston’s Inspectional Services Division partnered with NFPA to create a training and certifcate program.

• A similar regulation was adopted by Massachusetts, efective July 1, 2018. Other states and jurisdictions are exploring implementing a similar approach.

NFPA 51B is required by reference, and therefore, compliance is not optional. OSHA references NFPA 51B, Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting, and Other Hot Work, in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart Q, and NFPA 1, Fire Code, requires compliance with NFPA 51B in Chapter 41.

DID YOU KNOW?

FACT SHEET

Ways to Minimize Hot Work Hazards

Use “Recognize, Evaluate, and Control” Process

One process to reduce hot work hazards is called “Recognize, Evaluate, and Control.” This process is covered in NFPA 51B and focuses on the following:

• Recognize – Determine if fre risks exist before hot work is started.

• Evaluate – Determine if hazards are present, especially hazards that could fuel a fre (fammable and combustible liquids or gases and simple combustibles).

• Control – Take appropriate steps to eliminate or minimize the hazards.

The hot work permit helps the permit authorizing individual, hot work operator, and fre watch recognize potential hazards.

Areas can be protected with the use of welding pads, blankets, or curtains, clearing combustibles from a 35-ft (11-m) radius space around the hot work, or moving the hot work to an area free of combustibles.

Identify Alternatives to Hot Work

Hot work hazards can be avoided if there is an alternative method to complete the job. Some options include the following:

• Screwed, fanged, or clamped pipe

• Manual hydraulic shears

• Mechanical bolting or pipe cutting

• Compressed air-actuated fasteners

HOT WORK SAFETY CONTINUED

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

If you are a code ofcial, you must know and enforce the requirements of NFPA 51B.

If you are a building owner or facility manager, you must have a procedure in place for documenting hot work hazards and for advising all contractors about site-specifc potential fre hazards. You also need to know any jurisdiction-specifc regulations you need to comply with.

If you are a contractor or someone working on a job site, you should know the specifc combustible hazards within a client property, where manual fre-fghting tools are located, and where hot work is not allowed.

RESOURCES

�Get free access to NFPA 51B, Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting, and Other Hot Work at:

nfpa.org/51B.

�29 CFR 1910 (Occupational Safety and Health Standards) Subpart Q (Welding, Cutting, and Brazing)

�29 CFR 1926 (Safety and Health Regulations for Construction) Subpart J (Welding and Cutting)

�ANSI Z49.1, Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes, 2012

Fires can start after the hot work is complete. The fre watch must remain on site for a minimum of 60 minutes to monitor for smoldering fres, per NFPA 51B. The permit authorizing individual could require the fre watch to remain on site longer depending on the conditions of the work site.

NEXT STEPS YOU CAN TAKE

Download “Structure Fires Caused by Hot Work” report.

Get your hot work safety training and certifcate at:

nfpa.org/hotwork.

Access the latest information and resources, including a sample hot work permit at:

nfpa.org/51BNews.

DID YOU KNOW?

This information is provided to help users navigate NFPA® 51B, Standard for Fire Prevention During Welding, Cutting, and Other Hot Work, 2019 edition. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list of requirements under NFPA 51B. Check with the local jurisdictions for specifc requirements. This material does not represent the

® ofcial position of NFPA or its technical committees on any referenced topic, which is represented solely by the NFPA documents in their entirety. For free access to the complete and most current version of all NFPA documents, please go to nfpa.org/docinfo. NFPA disclaims liability for any personal injury, property, or other damages of any nature whatsoever resulting from the use of this information. In using this information, you should rely on your independent judgment, and when appropriate, consult a competent professional.

© 2021 National Fire Protection Association / April 2021 https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=51B https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=51B http://www.nfpa.org/51B http://www.nfpa.org/hotworkreport https://www.nfpa.org/Training-and-Events/By-topic/Hot-Work https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/all-codes-and-standards/list-of-codes-and-standards/detail?code=51B&tab=research https://nfpa.org/docinfo

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