InstructionsPart 2: Scenario-Based Case StudyFor this assignment, you will submit Part 2 of the scenario-based case study course project, which is due in Unit VIII. You should evaluate and revise the

Running Head: FIRE PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY 0

Fire Protection Technology

Name

Institution

Fire protection technology

Section 1

The fire was caused by sparks from the welding which ignited the cardboards that were nearby. At the time of the fire in the warehouse, there was so much that was not functioning. Power was out due to flooding and workers had to use portable generators and handheld lights for lighting. This poor lighting is what led one of the workers to stumble into the main support causing damage. There were no welders to repair the damage and this led to the fire. The sprinkler heads were not operating and therefore no alarms went off at the time when the fire started. Things failed one after the other until there was a fire. The fire pump failed to increase pressure and therefore there was no power. Low water pressure caused the sprinkler heads to fail and so there was no alarm.

Most of the construction materials in this warehouse were materials that favor a fire. The structure was constructed with rigid steel frames. Steel absorbs fire and so the steel beams absorbed fire from below and transmitted it to other materials used in the construction of the structure thus compromising them. Also, most of the materials in the warehouse at that time were highly flammable and supported fire. There were so many cardboards that are used for storage. There was also so much plastic that stores chemicals, food, and cleaning products. All this provided a favorable ground for the fire to thrive. What is more, is that they produced a lot of smoke impeding vision.

As part of the recommendations, the warehouse needs to come up with ways to prepare, recognize, and prevent hazards. For example, the fire pump was not bonded properly and the management ought to have been aware of this and fixed it. The fire also happened because workers did not know how to store flammable materials. They stored flammable materials close to the main support and when it sparked, they immediately caught fire. The warehouse management should, therefore, consider training their workers on how to handle these materials so that risks of fire can be prevented in the future. The management should also train personnel to help in suppressing fire in case it breaks out (Gjosund et al, 2016).

Section 2

Is it right to use the foreign-made fire pump because others were not available in order to provide fire protection so the warehouse could re-open and the workers could go back to work?

It was right to use the foreign-made fire pump because the local ones were not available. The fire pumps require for the system were unavailable and the renovation had to be completed within a short deadline. The system of water supply could not provide enough pressure to meet the requirements of the square footage and so a fire pump was absolutely necessary. Besides, the fire pump compiles with foreign regulations and the international codes of practice which are similar to the National Fire Protection Association. Although the fire pump was not approved by the Underwriters Laboratory it met the standards of the International Organization for Standardization which applies to centrifugal pumps and jockey pumps.

None of the decisions that the contractor would have made would be completely acceptable. Sometimes we have to make decisions even if something will go wrong about it. If the contractor would not have substituted the fire pump with a foreign one, the renovation would not have been completed within the short deadline. They would have been forced to wait until local fire pumps are available and this would have delayed everything. The contractor, therefore, made an individual choice (Oladinrin & Ho, 2016).

The contractor chose a short-term benefit that was guaranteed over a long term benefit that was not guaranteed. Since this fire pump has not been approved by the Underwriters Laboratory and only meets the foreign standards, there is no guarantee that it will hold for long. But at least it will solve the problem albeit for a short while. The warehouse can, therefore, go back to its operations while they wait for the local fire pumps to be available. The main reason why people are encouraged to use local products is because of loyalty and the contractor chose not to work with this. One cannot delay their work when there are other options just because they need to be loyal. I, therefore, feel that substituting the unavailable local fire pumps with a foreign one was a good decision (Drevland et al, 2017).

References

Drevland, F., Lohne, J., & Klakegg, O. J. (2017). Ethical Dilemmas in Value Delivery: Theoretical Conditions. In 25th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (pp. 145-152). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frode_Drevland/publication/318497979_Ethical_Dilemmas_in_Value_Delivery_Theoretical_Conditions/links/596f4666a6fdcc6e3b900f3c/Ethical-Dilemmas-in-Value-Delivery-Theoretical-Conditions.pdf

Gjøsund, G., Almklov, P., Halvorsen, K., & Storesund, K. (2016). Vulnerability and prevention of fatal fires. Walls, Lesley, Matthew Revie & Tim Bedford: Risk, Reliability and Safety: Innovating Theory and Practice: Proceedings of ESREL. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Petter_Almklov/publication/310448146_Vulnerability_and_prevention_of_fatal_fires/links/582d7acd08ae004f74bbed40.pdf

Oladinrin, O. T., & Ho, C. M. F. (2016). Enabling ethical code embeddedness in construction organizations: A review of process assessment approach. Science and engineering ethics, 22(4), 1193-1215. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-015-9679-4