Construction Fire Protection & Prevention

Case Study: In 1991, a fire broke out in a Hamlet, North Carolina, Imperial Food Products plant when a fryer ignited. The flames spread by way of the grease left on the building's floors. The building's sprinkler system failed leaving employees to struggle through billowing smoke in order to find the exits, only to find some of them locked. Overcome by carbon monoxide, the employees collapsed, their bodies in piles on the factory floor. Of the 81 employees present that day, 25 died and 40 were injured. Eighty years after the United States vowed to protect its workers after the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, the nation was left asking itself again, "How could something so tragic happen?" A 2017 book by Temple University professor Bryant Simon titled The Hamlet Fire: The Story of Cheap Food, Cheap Government, and Cheap Lives examines this question. Simon agrees that locked doors and lack of safety drills contributed to the loss of life. However, he suggests that much more was at work to cause such a tragedy: a lack of enforcement of regulations, the demand for cheap labor, a "culture of silence and intimidation" from workers and management, and a general trend in the United States of devaluing workers and their safety.

Key Takeaway: No worksite is immune from fire hazards. Implement and follow the safety policies set forth by OSHA.