Recently, a remarkable fire accident occurred again in the domestic silicone industry. A product development center of a silicone company in a county in Zhejiang Province caught fire at noon on July 19, 2024. The fire quickly spread and the burned area reached 400 square meters. Although the accident did not cause any casualties, it exposed serious loopholes in the company's safety production management and sounded the alarm for the entire industry.
According to the investigation report released by the Emergency Management Bureau, the accident occurred in Workshop A, which is mainly responsible for the production of various silicone oil products. During the trial production of type II methyl branched silicone oil, due to inadequate supervision by workshop workers, alcohol containing water (with an ethanol content of about 20-40%) overflowed from the ton bucket and flowed into the workshop floor and drainage ditch. At this moment, another group of workers were carrying out hot work nearby, and the splashing sparks instantly ignited the alcohol containing water in the drainage ditch, rapidly expanding the fire.
The direct cause of this accident may seem simple, but it actually reflects many problems in the safety production management of the enterprise. Firstly, inadequate safety management and unreasonable personnel allocation resulted in the failure to assign a dedicated person to monitor and collect the ton barrels containing alcohol water. Additionally, there was no one on duty in the workshop during noon, leading to the overflow of alcohol water. Secondly, there is insufficient identification of the hazards of alcohol containing water, and no emergency response measures or operating procedures have been developed. In addition, there are loopholes in work coordination management, which have not been detected and stopped in a timely manner for hot work operations. The improper storage of materials and the blockage of fire exits have further exacerbated the spread of the fire.
In terms of hot work management, enterprises also have serious problems. The discharge of alcohol containing water and the cross operation of hot work in Class A workshop were not communicated with each other, and the hot work permit was not signed and confirmed. Fire prevention measures were not taken for high-altitude hot work operations, and isolation measures were not taken for the trench below the hot work site. At the same time, the failure to disclose safety risks to hot work personnel and conduct gas concentration analysis laid the groundwork for the occurrence of accidents.
This accident has brought profound enlightenment to the entire silicone industry. Enterprises must deeply recognize the importance of safety production, strengthen safety management, improve safety systems, and enhance employees' safety awareness and operational skills. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the management of high-risk operations such as hot work, strictly implement the work permit system, implement fire prevention measures, and ensure the safety of operations. In addition, enterprises should strengthen material storage management, maintain smooth fire exits, and prevent the spread of fire.