A complete Fire Protection Program exists and is described in the CEBAF/TJNAF Safety Manual, Chapter 6900. This document is available at many locations on the Jefferson Lab site and is also available for web browsing at http://www.cebaf.gov/ehs/manual/EHS book-1.html.
The Jefferson Lab EH&S manual addresses fire safety in the following five sections:
6910 Fire Protection Program (June 1, 1996)
6920 Safe Egress (March 4, 1995)
6930 Fire Protection Systems (March 4, 1995)
6940 Portable Fire Extinguishers (March 4, 1995)
6950 Fire Safety Construction Requirements (March 4, 1995)
Excerpts from this manual which are relevant to Hall B fire safety are included in the following.
The decision-making authority for fire-protection systems, building features and suitability for occupancy with respect to fire safety as described in this program. Final AHJ responsibilities rest with the cognizant DOE Authority. The Jefferson Lab Plant Engineering Director provides the laboratory with direction for fire-protection based upon contractual commitments and applicable standards and codes, and serves as the on-site AHJ.
The total value of the structure and contents within a potential fire area. This assumes there is no automatic fire suppression or fire-fighting efforts.
Property and content damage from a fire assuming fire-suppression systems worked as designed.
The National Fire Protection Association, the recognized standard-setting organization in the U.S. for fire and life safety.
Take action to prevent and to correct problems. Plant Engineering accepts phoned-in reports (ext. 7400) from any laboratory or subcontractor employee regarding problems with fire protection systems.
Line management is responsible to ensure buildings are used in a manner consistent with their design and intended occupancy.
Jefferson Lab's EH&S professional staff and area safety wardens are required to monitor their areas for fire safety as part of their regular inspections and provide information about unresolved fire safety problems to the Fire Protection Engineer.
All fire protection systems at Jefferson Lab with alarm capabilities are monitored at a central master display panel located in the accelerator-site guard station. This panel is manned at all times by security personnel who have instructions on respondin g to alarm or system trouble conditions. Security conducts a roving patrol several time during each shift, and they are alert to incipient fire conditions.
The Plant Engineering Director (PED) has overall responsibility for the preparation, implementation, and maintenance of the FPP. The PED serves as the on-site authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) and makes decisions about fire-protection design, construction and maintenance in Jefferson Lab buildings in consultation with the Fire Protection Engineer.
The Maintenance Services Manager reports to the PED and has operational responsibility for the FPP. This includes reviewing subcontract documents for fire-protection systems maintenance and modifications, and other quality-assurance activities. The Maint enance Services Manager also coordinates interdisciplinary work, including temporary system impairments involving the FPP, and drafts revisions to the FPP. The maintenance services manager is also the primary point of contact for fire protection issues wi th respect to external agencies.
The Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) reports to the Maintenance Services Manager and is the in-house technical expert for Jefferson Lab's fire-protection systems and associated components. The FPE monitors the status of protection systems during normal operation, repair, and impairment, develops interim protection strategies and documents all changes to the systems, maintaining complete records on the systems. The FPE serves as the Subcontracting Officer's Technical Representative for all fire-protection system work, and prepares design specifications and other technical material for subcontracts involving the systems. The FPE serves as the initial internal point of contact for all facility fire-safety issues, acts as inter-divisional liaison, and provides technical assistance to the PED on all fire protection matters.
Jefferson Lab's facilities have been, and shall be, designed to incorporate contemporary fire-protection standards, while accommodating the unique features of the accelerator, experimental apparatus, and a variety of associated workplace environments. Principal design criteria include pertinent sections of the National Fire Protection Association Standards and the BOCA National Building Code. Other industry standards may apply, such as ANSI, UL, FM, OSHA and statutory authorities. A complete listing of sources for design and operational practices is listed in the "References" section of this appendix. The code of record is documented as part of archival records for each Jefferson Lab structure. The design-review process used by Plant Engineering is described in detail in its Quality Assurance Plan. This includes appropriate review by the FPE of a proposed project early in its design phase. Plant Engineering uses standard and customary design reviews of A&E design, such as reviews of the 30, 60, and 90-percent design documents. This review may be conducted on a less frequent basis, depending upon the size of the design project. Plant Engineering maintains all relevant files for each project, including design criteria and rationale. Design review shall also be done for projects performed by in-house staff, with peer reviews of each design.
The maximum credible fire loss (MCFL) is an important basis to Jefferson Lab's fire-safety planning. The MCFL is normally taken to be the value of the property--building and contents--in the predicted fire area. It assumes that all installed fire protect ion systems functioned as designed. On occasion, a Fire Hazard Analysis (FHA) may provide justification for increasing or decreasing the MCFL from the apparent value.
Fire loss is considered to be the replacement cost of structures and contents--less any salvage value. Replacement costs must include any expenses for clean-up and decontamination, disruption to normal production, and other ancillary actions.
Actual fire losses shall be reported to DOE as described in Chapter 5300 Occurrence Reporting.
Chemical spills, which may occur as a consequence of fires, must be reported. See Appendix 6750-T1 Chemical/Material List of EHMs at Jefferson Lab.
Many of the codes and standards referenced in this program specify design features, construction methods, materials, and building accessories to reduce fire risk. Some of these can become impaired through neglect or improper modification. As such, they a re elements of the Fire Protection Engineer's inspection activities described in Appendix 6910-T4 Fire Protection Program Assessment and Appraisal. They include, but are not limited to:
Fire protection systems (FPS) include two broad categories of equipment:
The thresholds for determining suitable systems are summarized in the table below. These thresholds are based upon widely accepted fire and casualty insurance industry criteria. In addition, Jefferson Lab shall use only equipment which is approved for its intended use by Underwriters' Laboratory and/or Factory Mutual.
In addition, all new structures over 5000 ft2 shall have automatic suppression systems, regardless of MPFL. These system requirements are based upon the normal response time of the Newport News Fire Department.
Newly installed or modified systems shall be accepted only after performance testing as specified by NFPA standards. In addition, Jefferson Lab shall require complete documentation of systems, to include as-built drawings, operation and service manuals, diagnostic and test reports, and any other information as necessary to ensure a properly functioning system. New systems or additions to existing systems shall be incorporated promptly into the FPP inspection, testing, and preventive maintenance plan.
The City of Newport News provides water for the Jefferson Lab site. There are three water-supply-line connections to the site:
With the exception of the VARC Building/Trailer City area, the site hydrant and suppression systems can be fed from either the Canon or Jefferson mains. This supply redundancy provides an outstanding level of confidence in a continuous water supply for most of the site. The VARC/Trailer City area is served by the second Jefferson main tap only. Plant Engineering maintains the site water-distribution system and maintains an up-to-date drawing of the system: #91-U-8-0144-001. Testing, flushing, or special connections to the water supply system use back-flow prevention precautions as discussed in Chapter 6730 Water Quality Management.
On occasion, literal compliance with a broad-based life-safety code or standard is not feasible. In such instances, Plant Engineering is responsible for developing an equivalent level of protection through an engineering analysis of the hazard and potential fire loss. In all cases, the objective of equivalencies is to ensure that design and construction methods are suitable for the intended occupancy of the structure, to protect occupants from fire by providing ample means of egress, to safeguard valuable property, and to minimize fire spread.
Code or standard exemptions are sought when their application to Jefferson Lab is inappropriate with respect to the facility purpose, or would offer insufficient additional protection for the cost required. Plant Engineering is responsible for documenting the conditions, costs and benefits (usually in the context of a Fire Hazard Analysis), and presenting the rationale for a proposed exemption. The proposed equivalency or exemption is submitted by the Plant Engineering Director to the Jefferson Lab Director's Council for institutional approval. The PED then submits the proposal to the DOE Site Office for review and transmittal to the cognizant DOE authority for final review and approval. Managers of work groups affected by an equivalency or exemption shall be provided information by the FPE that they need to adopt special procedures reflecting any limitations on space use, material selection, or restrictions on welding, cutting, and grinding. See Chapter 6122 Welding, Cutting, and Grinding Safety.
Facility planning and property acquisition requirements are Plant Engineering functions. The objective is to anticipate the laboratory's needs in a timely manner, based upon direction from the Director's Council and specific information from the divisions involved. New facilities or major renovation of the existing physical plant necessitate a review of existing fire-protection systems and features within the affected area. Plant Engineering determines the need for new or enhanced protection based on code and contractual requirements, determines its costs, and provides this information as part of the overall planning information.
In addition, needs for improvements in existing structures and systems may be identified through the FPP's continuous-improvement processes described in Appendix 6910-T4 Fire Protection Program Assessment and Appraisal. These are given a priority ranking for available funding. The major elements of this prioritization scheme are:
Jefferson Lab has unique, difficult-to-replace facilities and apparatus. Fire damage could cause severe operational disruption. The equipment in these areas is also very expensive. For these reasons, Jefferson Lab contracts for a rigorous Fire Hazard Ana lysis (FHA) of mission-essential areas. The main elements of the FHA are, for each functional area:
The FHA establishes a baseline of fire-safety information for a structure. Continuing engineering assessments keep the FHA valid. Plant Engineering maintains the official copy of the FHAs and is responsible for the coordination of corrective actions for FHA deficiencies. In addition, the documents are a basis for future design and planning for changes to the areas involved.
Do not obstruct exits and egress routes. If you observe any obstruction, remove it, or report it to a supervisor promptly. Assist visitors and others who are unfamiliar with the evacuation route from a particular building If you have a visitor in the wor k area with impaired mobility, inform the appropriate supervisor Respond to all evacuation alarms or directions to evacuate as if they were life-threatening situations. If an alarm is identified in advance as a test, evacuation is not necessary.
Ensure that egress routes and exits are kept free of obstructions at all times. Ensure that normal and special work operations always make provisions for emergency egress. Ensure that new employees, subcontractor employees, and long-term visitors unfamil iar with a particular workplace are given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with egress routes and with muster (or assembly) points outside of the building, and that they know how to identify alarm/evacuation-alert signals. Ensure that provisions are made for any employee or visitor with impaired mobility. This may consist of physical assistance from a designated able-bodied employee or by ensuring the mobility-impaired person is led to a safe area to await emergency services rescue. Supervisors s hall make the selection of these safe areas with the assistance of the Jefferson Lab Fire Protection Engineer and the local fire department. Ensure that changes to space-use in any particular work area do not impair safe egress. Consult with the landlord division EH&S staff as needed to evaluate potential changes to space use. (See Chapter 2220 Landlord and Tenant EH&S Responsibilities, which describes landlord/tenant relationships.)
Ensure that safe egress is provided for all existing and proposed Jefferson Lab work environments and that routes and doors are suitably marked. Ensure that doors that are not part of an egress route, but could be mistaken for an exit, are labeled " Not an Exit." Maintain all door hardware, handrails, stair treads, emergency lighting, and other vital egress systems to ensure safe evacuation from all buildings. Coordinate the production and installation of emergency evacuation diagrams for all Je fferson Lab buildings and underground areas as required by standards. These are to be revised as necessary to reflect wall and door relocations or other modifications.
Ensure that work operations and space use do not impair or exceed the capability of the fire protection systems installed in the area. Consult with the division EH&S staff whenever you are unsure about the suitability of a work process in a particula r environment. Implement the necessary modifications to work procedures whenever the fire protection system is being serviced or has reduced capability. Inform Plant Engineering of any pending work operation which may require temporary modifications or ad justments to fire protection systems. Appendix 6910-T1 Building Fire-Protection Design describes the temporary operational safety procedure (TOSP) for fire protection system impairment.
Coordinate the selection and design of all Jefferson Lab fire protection systems. Systems must meet all applicable code and regulatory requirements, and must conform to Appendix 6910-T1 Building Fire-Protection Design. Ensure that fire protection equipme nt is inspected and tested as required by standards and manufacturer's recommendations. Inspection intervals are described in the Appendix 6910-T1 Building Fire-Protection Design. Maintain records of all inspection and testing. Provide guidance to Jeffers on Lab divisions on potential fire protection requirements and associated costs as part of space-use and modification planning. Select, install, and modify fire protection systems as required by the operational needs of the facility.