Working in the oil industry means a lifetime of spending weeks at a time within hazardous situations. Offshore, the hazards are even more numerous. For those performing Hot Work, the danger is up-close and very apparent. Thankfully, for them, they always have someone looking out at all times to reduce the hazard as much as can be possible. That person is called a firewatch.
A firewatch is trained to perform essential duties on a job site, to keep hot work safe (or at least as safe as it can be.) These duties include basic knowledge of fires, including the types of fires, as well as how to deal with each kind of fire. For example, a Class A fire will be construed from normal, “ordinary” combustible material, like paper or wood. Read the rest of this entry »