On July 19, 2024, a serious fire accident occurred in a silicone company in a county in Zhejiang Province, with a burnt area of 400 square meters, once again pushing safety production issues to the forefront. This accident not only brought huge economic losses to the enterprise, but also sounded the alarm for the entire industry.
According to the investigation report, the accident occurred in Workshop A, which is currently undergoing trial production of Type II methyl branched silicone oil. Due to inadequate supervision by workshop workers, alcohol containing water 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, rapidly expanding the fire.
This accident exposed serious loopholes in the company's safety production management. Firstly, the safety management is inadequate, the personnel configuration is unreasonable, and no dedicated person has been arranged to supervise the collection of ton barrels containing alcohol water, and there is no one on duty in the workshop during noon. 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.
From a deeper perspective, this accident reflects the company's carelessness and lucky mentality in terms of safety production. Enterprises may consider the risks during the trial production phase to be relatively low, so they may relax their safety management. However, it was precisely this carelessness and lucky mentality that led to the occurrence of the accident.
This accident has brought profound lessons 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.