Safety

Combustibles, Part 1

April 3, 2018

Follow these best practices when storing combustibles.

Sometimes, the electrician or electrical crew is the enforcer for rules covering what other people do with combustibles. For example, when cardboard boxes are stacked to within an inch of bus bar or file boxes are stored in an electrical closet. In other cases, the electricians are responsible for their own actions with combustibles. How you store them is one area of concern. Follow these best practices:

Always observe the egress path. Simply not blocking it isn’t sufficient. Because this path is a fire escape route, you don’t want to line either side of it with combustibles.
Always observe the sprinkler dousing pattern. Stack combustibles well within the “cone” and don’t block the water from hitting items that need protection.
Store combustibles away from energy sources. Sure, you know not to store them in equipment vaults, but there are other energy sources. Space heaters, hot process piping, and any power distribution equipment, for example.
Don’t stack combustibles near production equipment. Why not? Operators will probably move it near electrical equipment.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.