Features of assessing the level of fire and explosion safety of tanks before hot works

Introduction. One of the most important stages in the development of fire and explosion safety requirements applicable to the process of design and operation of oil and petroleum products storage facilities is the correct examination of the facts of fires and explosions. Unfortunately, electronic resources don’t always correctly disclose the causes of fires and don’t allow for the correct assessments of the fire safety level. Goals and objectives. The goal of the study is to improve the quality of evaluation of statistical data on fires arising in reservoirs, based on the use of data from various information sources. The compilation of qualification attributes of causes of fires will simplify the fire examination procedure.
Methods. Research methods include the analysis of statistical data on fires at hydrocarbon storage, transportation and processing facilities. The work encompasses the computational and analytical assessment of the possibility of formation of combustible concentrations in the gas space of tanks and formation of explosive zones outside technological devices.
Results and their discussion. The article addresses features of assessing the fire and explosion safety of tanks by classifying causes of fires at the stage of pre-repair preparation of tanks and hot works. Three principal classification features have been identified: fires that occur during the pre-repair preparation; fires that occur after the fulfillment of regulatory requirements for the pre-repair preparation, and fires caused by major violations of fire safety requirements.
Conclusions. To prevent fires, the issue of tank farm design should be elaborated in detail, fire safety measures should be taken during the operation of hydrocarbon storage facilities, maintenance of equipment should be carried out, preventive maintenance should be executed, as well.

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