This form was submitted on: Feb-12-2007 03:53:34PM
NEAR MISS/CLOSE CALL
Employee Name: XXXXXXXXXXXX Employee Number:    Phone:  XXXXXXXXXXXX
Occupation: Department:
Date Of Near Miss/Close Call: 01/12/2007  
Describe Near Miss/Close Call
During hot tie-in operations a rush of gas caused controlled fire to become larger than could be controlled by fire control stack. Excavation needed to be evacuated while fire extinguishers were deployed to put out fire. Job was shut-down and secured while the cause of the gas rush was investigated. Various items were looked at as cause, such as improper fire control stack operation and malfunction of fire control stack. It was determined that a valve greasing operation approx. 110 ft  away caused the seat on plug valve to be hydraulically lifted creating a path for gas to leak through from the upstream side. After cause was determined an all hands safety meeting was conducted. Discussed what happened, how everyone performed, and what could be done in the future to prevent re-occurrence and to more safely execute evacuation. Also discussed was how to proceed with the tie-in operations. We proceeded by discontinuing the valve greasing operation, cleaning the excavation of ansul extinguisher material and ensuring that we had charged fire extinguishers. Then relit the tie-in location and ensured we could control the fire. Also we ran controlled fire operations for 30 minutes prior to allowing personnel to continue welding to ensure and give us confidence we had fire control and would not get another surge of gas. Rest of tie-in operations went smoothly.
Contributing Factors of Near Miss/Close Call
Greasing a closed block valve that is isolating tie-in could allow gas leakage through valve.
 

Corrective Action
Prohibit greasing of closed block valves that are being used for isolation. Add warning to tie-in procedures. Discuss the evacuation procedure for excavation during morning safety meeting. Emphasize the diligence of fire watch duties. Review with all work groups.
 

Supervisor: XXXXXXXX
Supv. Email: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Supv. Phone: XXXXXXXXXXXXX