Building industrial emergency response capabilities in Azerbaijan
In October of 2004, John Coates was picked by BP Operations in Azerbaijan to build an in-house fire team for their Sangachal Terminal Facility. The role expanded in 2005 to Emergency Response Team Lead when Coates was charged with building a fully functioning fire and emergency response department to protect BP’s largest asset in the region.
Coates is proud of what the team accomplished at Sangachal Terminal. He explains, “It started with twelve guys from the state fire service using two 15-year-old British water tenders. When I left the terminal in December of 2009, the Sangachal Terminal Fire Rescue Team had 57 full-time responders, ten vehicles, and a three million dollar annual budget. So, it was quite an exciting building process; we achieved full surface firefighting capability for our 316-foot diameter crude oil tanks.“
Coates also consulted with other BP assets throughout the area, so he’s familiar with a wide variety of scenarios–and a wide variety of firefighting challenges. With Coates’ vast array of experience, it’s no wonder he has some informed opinions about specifying and selecting an industrial firefighting vehicle.
Base cases versus wish lists
Since budgets are likely to be limited, his basic advice is to set priorities based on site requirements. “You don’t want to order a long reach aerial if you don’t have anything higher than a pipe rack to deal with as elevated surfaces,” Coates said. “So, make sure that your major risks and site or facility hazard studies are part of the design process for your vehicles.”
For Coates, three factors need to be considered when designing a response vehicle for an industrial site.
“First, you need to know what your base case is. The base case for a facility is what the designers or the facility management team intends to handle in the way of a fire, using internal resources. Is it planned that the facility’s internal resources will handle everything that can happen at that facility or is it limited to certain response scenarios? When we started out at Sangachal Terminal, we knew we couldn’t handle tank fires so we had a base case that covered 85% of the facility.”
While functionality at the scene is properly given much attention, it’s important not to overlook Coates’ second consideration - mobility. “Make sure the truck can get around in your facility. You cannot purchase a large industrial truck and put it at a congested facility where the roads are narrow and winding. You need wide-open spaces for a large industrial truck – or you need to go to two smaller trucks,” explains Coates.
“The third factor - firepower - for me, means to specify the largest fire pump possible that is proven to be reliable. Right now, I believe that’s the 3000 GPM discharge rate. There are larger truck mounted pumps available on the market as special order items. However, the drive train requirements for these larger pumps are often not met or make the truck so large that it can’t function in the industrial environment.” Having said that, Coates, nevertheless, believes that you can never really have too much firepower.
At Sangachal Terminal, the facility’s newest and most powerful response vehicle is a custom-built Pierce industrial unit that Coates describes as “very capable.” He explains, “It’s got a 3000 GPM output pump with a large capacity Husky 300 foam system and a 6,000 GPM monitor mounted on top. It’s a sizable truck that the Fire Rescue Team has christened as the “Red Angel.” The truck carries 4000 liters of water and 4000 liters of 1% foam. It’s got a rear mount pump module configuration on it. I like rear mounts for industrial response.
“With a rear mount pump it’s easier to position the truck and you gain compartment space,” Coates said. “With the rear mount, if the truck’s positioned correctly, the operator can see everything and he doesn’t have to go up and down steps. He’s on the ground and he’s not in the way, and the hoses are not in the way of the truck when the responders are accessing tools.”
Coates believes it’s necessary to make sure the specifications are fit for purpose and that the manufacturer can deliver as specified. “In our case (with Red Angel), that was definitely what we’ve experienced. The manufacturer offered us innovative and constructive recommendations that met our needs. They listened to what we said and responded in their proposal and with the final product.”
Coates believes that a strategic and thorough program for spare replacement parts is critical to the purchase: “We learned a long time ago being in these remote locations – like an island in the middle of the Arabian Gulf or next to the Caspian Sea in Baku – order a large list of spares. Work with the manufacturer on needed spares. The manufacturer should relate what parts they have experienced issues with and, more often than not, already have a recommended spares list.”
Support should start before the sale
If your vehicle manufacturer doesn’t offer first-rate troubleshooting, that could be, well, trouble. Coates advises, “I recommend the ability to data link into a computer and use remote troubleshooting. And always, always specify site-based training to be provided by your vehicle manufacturer in the purchase contract. ”
From distilleries to pipelines, Coates is intent on the right response to the scenario. And that starts with a solid plan and the right vehicles.