July 2019 Updated Fire Report: Spike in Summer Fires Holds True

Over the past 12 months, there have been 30 injuries due to these fires, with a significant percentage of these injuries to the fire professionals.

SEATTLE (Waste 360): During the past 12 months, the waste and recycling industry has experienced 326 reported facility fires in both the U.S. and Canada. Based on reasonable assumptions, we can extrapolate that 1,800-plus facility fires have occurred during that time, which, based on the number of facilities reported by the Environmental Research & Education Foundation, is more than 40 percent of the industry.

I define “reported facility fires” as any fire that has been reported by the media that occurs at a waste or recycling facility. Typically, those fires are the two-alarm fires that required fire professionals to arrive on scene.  

When I first started working with Fire Rover, I was amazed to find out that fire incidents were down the list as a safety priority in the waste and recycling industry. This wasn’t due to a lack of caring, but as I met with industry consultants, executives, safety and operations folks, I began to understand that unlike truck accidents, landfill slides and compactor issues, fire wasn’t associated with the risk of losing a life. It is true that there have been very few deaths that have occurred in waste and recycling facilities due to fire. Fortunately, when there is a fire incident, the employees are typically able to evacuate. But unfortunately, the injuries that I see reported in the press around these fire incidents are more often than not the firefighters fighting these fires. 

Last month, I reported that we endured 10 injuries as a result of four different waste and recycling facility fire incidents. Since those 10 injuries made up half of the reported injuries, I was hoping that this spike was a one-time occurrence. Unfortunately, in July, there were eight more reported injuries to firefighters caused during three more fire incidents. 

Over the past 12 months, there have been 30 injuries due to these fires, with a significant percentage of these injuries to the fire professionals. The scary thing is that 60 percent (18) of these injuries occurred during the past two months. 

In addition, since I began consolidating waste and recycling facilities in February 2016, I have identified 53 injuries in 28 different incidents. 

Since this data is only from media agencies, the question we must ask is whether these numbers are truly representative of the problem. Most of the articles I read report the initial event, the plumes of smoke that can be seen from miles and miles away or the fact that there was a fire at a facility, but in most, there is not a follow-up story that shares the results and any consequences. 

Courtesy: https://www.waste360.com