I was a witness to a major fire in the GRAPHITE INDIA plant in 1992.Industrial fires are of a major concern around the world as it can create huge economic losses and an extended and un-predictable down time.
Graphite India used to have a Baking unit which bakes charge coming from Extrusion department.It used to be done with furnace oil in pits at a temperature of 800 degrees centigrade. Calcined petroleum coke and pitch are the key ingredients of making graphite which is a by-product of the Petroleum refining industry.
On that afternoon welding was happenning near by and a spark lit the oil largely that was scattered on the ground.The GM of Graphite India was A K JAIN and the Joint General Manager was Kersi KUKA.I used to have good relations with Kersi Kuka.A K Jain was out of town and Mr.Kuka was supervising things and sometimes had the temerity to go close to the fire which was ill-advised.
What ensued later was a very major fire towering above the plant and the fire engines arrived almost two hours later and doused the flames.
There was fire in BPL plant one night during over-time when some spark from some soldering machine lit cotton waste in the corner.
One of the reasons why I am putting these on record is that Indusrial engineers and managers must do everything possible to prevent fires.Sparks from the welding process have created fires at many places.The resonsibility of predicting possible fires and extinguishing them very early is a key aspect of Industrial engineering which would prevent huge losses to all stake holders and prevent organizations from going into a reverse gear.
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