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4-5 Pre-operating Inspection Cont'd .
p.
No smoking and other safety signs in place.
q.
Record keeping facility intact.
r.
Area free of trash and hazards.
s.
Roadways open.
t.
Operating personnel know their individual function.
u.
Communications system and back-up functional.
4-6 Fire Protection and Suppression
It is not in the scope of this manual to supply the sole instruction on fire prevention and fire suppression. Management
and supervision are, or should become, thoroughly acquainted with U.S. Army instructional manuals on this subject.
Some guidelines specifically related to the problem of handling flammable fuels are outlined below. Chapter 2, para. 2-
4.13 lists the fire suppression equipment supplied with the TPT. Appendix A includes specific instructions on the use and
maintenance of the fire suppression equipment supplied.
4-6.1 Causes and Prevention of Fires and Explosions
Volatile petroleum fuels vaporize at normal atmospheric temperatures, and the vapors burn readily when ignited. For
fuel vapors to burn or explode, three elements must be present fuel, air or oxygen, and a source of ignition. All three
must be present at the same time and place to produce a fire. If any one of these elements is missing, a fire will not
occur. Personnel must remember that in any of the operations they perform, two of the elements, air and fuel, are
present. The only other element is heat; and if the fire or sparks occur under such conditions, an explosion or fire will
result.
a.
TPT personnel have little control over the air present in most of their operations. With the exception of
preventing spills, they have little control over the generation of flammable vapors. Therefore, primary attention in
preventing fires must be given to eliminating possible sources of ignition. There are many potential ignition sources,
some of which are as follows:
1.
Sparks generated by static electricity.
2.
Operating internal combustion engines.
3.
Arcing of electrical circuits.
4.
Open flame.
b.
Static electricity has been the source of ignition for many petroleum fires. Static electricity may be generated by
agitation or flow of petroleum liquid, moving machinery, moving vehicles, and by personnel. Protection against these
ignition sources is obtained by dissipating static charges through proper connections to the ground before they build up
sufficiently to be dangerous or by discharging the static charges before vapors are released into the air. To illustrate, a
fuel dispensing system is grounded and the fill valve or nozzle is touched to the metal vehicle before the nozzle or valve
is opened.
c.
The operation of internal combustion engines can provide sources of ignition. Ignition of vapors may occur
through the arcing of distributor points, arcing at spark plugs,
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