This document summarizes challenges in hot work/welding fire liability cases and strategies for overcoming them. It discusses 5 key liability challenges: (1) determining the location of fire origin, (2) establishing the time lapse between welding and fire, (3) proving violations of standards of care, (4) addressing contracts and waivers, and (5) coverage exclusions. It provides tips for investigations including burn pattern analysis, smoldering fire processes, and standard of care codes. Expert opinions on fire causation and site safety are emphasized for solidifying liability arguments in these complex cases.

1. HOT WORK/
WELDING FIRES
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES AND
ACHIEVING RECOVERY

2. GOAL OF PRESENTATION
 Nuts and bolts of how to win these cases!
 Items to be aware of during investigation and evaluation

3. WHAT TYPE OF WORK ARE WE
ADDRESSING?
 Welding
 Heat Treating
 Grinding
 Thawing pipe
 Power – driven fasteners
 Hot riveting
 Torch applied roofing
 Sweating
 Soldering
 Similar applications producing or
using a spark, flame or heat
 Flame hardening or softening
 Thermal Spraying
 Paint or rust removal
 Brazing

4. WHERE ARE THEY?
 Mills
 Farmhouses
 Warehouses
 Residential
 Churches
 Construction projects
 HVAC
 Closed containers
 Strip Malls
 Gas piping
 Roofing systems

5. WHY ALL THE DAMAGE?
 Combustibles
 Timing of fire
 Response time
 Detection/Suppression systems often disabled

6. TYPICAL DAMAGE

7. DAMAGED MILLHOUSE

8. LIABILITY
CHALLENGES
I. Location of fire
II. Time lapse between welding and fire
III. Standard of Care
IV. Contracts/Waivers
V. Coverage for target
I. COI/Exclusion

9. I. LOCATION OF FIRE
Slag/Sparks
 What it is
 Distance it can travel
 Area of origin
- Example: underneath floor boards
- Example: within sawdust

10. LOCATION OF FIRE

11. BURN PATTERNS

12. II. TIME LAPSE BETWEEN WELDING
AND FIRE
Smoldering Fire
 How long?
 How does the process occur?
 Combustion without flame, usually with incandescence and
smoke

13. II. TIME LAPSE BETWEEN WELDING
AND FIRE
 Cited examples of smoldering fires.
 Lumber Mill
Portland, OR
Montana

14. III. STANDARD OF CARE
 NFPA
 OSHA
 ANSI
 Local codes

15. KEY TERMS
 “Thirty Five Foot Rule”
 Responsible party
 Fire watch

16. A. The Thirty Five Foot Rule

17. NFPA 5IB “STANDARD FOR FIRE
PREVENTION DURING WELDING,
CUTTING, AND OTHER HOT WORK.”

18. 
“Section 3-3.2(b)
“Where combustible materials, such as paper
clippings, wood shavings, or textile fibers, are
on the floor, the floor shall be swept clean for
a radius of 35 ft. Combustible floors shall be
kept wet, be covered with damp sand, or be
protected by noncombustible or fire-retardant
shields.”

19. Section 3-3.2(c)
“All combustibles shall be relocated at least 35 ft
horizontally from the work site. If relocation is
impractical, combustibles shall be protected with fire-
retardant covers or otherwise shielded with metal or
fire-retardant guards or curtains. Edges of covers at the
floor shall be tight to prevent sparks from going under
them, including where several covers overlap when
protecting a large pile.”

20. Section 3-3.2(d)
“Openings or cracks in walls, floors, or ducts within 35 ft of the
site shall be tightly covered with fire-retardant or noncombustible
material to prevent the passage of sparks to adjacent areas.”

21. STANDARD OF CARE
 American National Standard, ANSI Z49.1
 “Safety in Welding, Cutting, and Allied Processes”
 Who wrote it?
 Important parts?

27.  Also: OSHA General Industry Standards 29 CFR 1910 Subpart
Q, “Welding, Cutting and Brazing”

28. OSHA
 1910.252(a)(1)(i)
 Fire Hazards: If the object to be welded or cut cannot readily
be moved, all movable fire hazards in the vicinity shall be
taken to a safe place.

29. OSHA
 1910.252(a)(1)(ii)
 Guards: If the object to be welded or cut cannot be moved and
if all the fire hazards cannot be removed, then guards shall be
used to confine the heat, sparks, and slag, and to protect the
immovable fire hazards.

30. OSHA
 1910.252(a)(1)(iii)
 Restrictions: If the requirements stated in paragraphs (a)(1)(i)
and (a)(1)(ii) of this section cannot be followed then welding
and cutting shall not be performed.

31. OSHA
 1910.252(a)(2)(i)
 Combustible material: Wherever there are floor openings or
cracks in the flooring that cannot be closed, precautions shall
be taken so that no readily combustible materials on the floor
below will be exposed to sparks which might drop through the
floor. The same precautions shall be observed with regard to
cracks or holes in walls, open doorways and open or broken
windows.

32. OSHA
 1910.252(a)(2)(ii)
 Fire extinguishers: Suitable fire extinguishing equipment shall
be maintained in a state of readiness for instant use. Such
equipment may consist of pails of water, buckets of sand, hose
or portable extinguishers depending upon the nature and
quantity of the combustible material exposed.

33. B. The Responsible Party

34. WHO IS THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY
“The owner shall designate a person who shall be responsible for
the fire prevention program and who shall ensure that it is carried
out to completion”
NFPA 241, 2000 Edition, 7.2.1

35. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE PARTY
 Management vs. Contractor
 NFPA 51B, Chapter 4, Responsibility for hot work.
 4.1 Management or a designated agent shall be responsible for
the safe operations of hot work activity

36. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE PARTY
 NFPA 51B
 Annex A – Explanatory Material
- A.4.1
 The committee recognizes that management might not always
have expertise in hot work and, therefore, would need a
knowledgeable and designated agent or contractor to act on its
behalf.

37. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE PARTY
 Identification
 Permit authorizing individual
 Who are they?
 What role do they play?

38. HOT WORK PERMIT
 Who required?
 Who reviewed?
 Who secured?

41. FIRE WATCH

42. FIRE WATCH
 NFPA 51B 4.4.1 The fire watch shall be trained to understand
the inherent hazards of the work site and of the hot work.
 Importance of fire watch.

43. QUESTIONS FOR FIRE WATCH
 Who, what, where, when, how
 Cell phone records
 Sign in sheets, time records
 Surveillance video

44. EXPAND YOUR SEARCH AND
IMPROVE YOUR RESULTS!

62. WILLIS RISK CONTROL BULLETIN

63. KEY DOCUMENTS
 NFPA
 OSHA
 ANSI
 Site Safety Plans
 Building Codes
 Hot Work Permit
 Contracts
 OCIP
 CCIP

64. SITE SAFETY CONSULTANTS
 Role
 Possible target?
 Standards
 Contract documents

65. ACTUAL SITE SAFETY PLANS
 Management Safety Responsibilities
 Assign an individual(s) (competent person) the authority for
the implementation of the safety at each worksite
 General Requirements
 Welding and Cutting
 All employees should be protected from exposures to welding
and cutting lights, falling sparks, fumes and vapors produced
by the cutting and welding of metals…

66. NYC BUILDING CODE
 Chapter 26: Filing of Site Safety Programs and Designation of
Site Safety Managers
 Filed with borough office
 Check requirements for your specific project
“The site safety program shall provide for the designation of a site
safety manager, certified by the Department of Buildings”
-NYC Building Code

67. KEY DEPOSITION QUESTIONS
 Who was in charge of…
 Whose job was it to…
 Who was responsible for…

68. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A SOLID,
TESTED EXPERT OPINION

69. EXPERT OPINION
 Site safety
 Fire protection
 Code enforcement
 Trade specific (Beyond traditional O & C)

70. EXPERT OPINION – CAUSE OF FIRE
 NFPA 921 – Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations.
 Chapter 18 – Fire Cause Determination.
 Jury Appeal – Rule out other causes.
 Incendiary
 Electrical
 Level of Certainty – Probable vs Possible

71. SUMMARY
 LIABILITY CHALLENGES
 I. Location
 II. Time Lapse
 III. Standard of Care
 IV. Contracts/Waivers
 V. Coverage for target
 COI/Exclusion
 EXPAND SEARCH, IMPROVE RESULTS
 SOLIDIFY YOUR EXPERT OPINION

72. Hot Work/Welding Fires:
Overcoming Obstacles
and Achieving Recovery
Presentation by Samuel J. Pace, Jr.,
Esquire and Stephen M. Winning, Esquire
Dugan, Brinkmann, Maginnis & Pace
1880 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 1400
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103
Telephone: 215-563-3500
Facsimile: 215-563-5610
sjpace@dbmplaw.com
swinning@dbmplaw.com
Sam Pace’s Cell #: 215-778-1604
Steve Winning’s Cell #: 267-325-5049