Preventing Industrial Fires

Falckon, a leading company in industrial fire and firefighting services, has called attention to the impact of industrial fires on ecosystems. Industrial fires and explosions not only endanger human life but also cause significant damage to natural ecosystems. Anıl Yamaner, General Manager of Falckon, Turkey's first industrial firefighting organization, noted that fires of chemical origin spread very rapidly, stating: "Air, water and soil become polluted quickly, causing damage that shows its effects in nature for many years. For this reason, industrial facilities must be structured to prevent fires if possible, or to enable immediate intervention when they occur, for the sake of a sustainable future." Thousands of industrial fires occur annually in the world and Turkey. These fires result not only in loss of life and property but sometimes also lead to major environmental disasters. For example, the Chernobyl nuclear explosion that occurred in 1986 was one of the largest environmental disasters in history, while the ITC fire in Texas in 2019 led to the burning of millions of liters of chemicals and their dispersal into the environment. This fire caused extensive environmental damage by polluting local water sources and air. The Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh in 2013 caused great harm to nature while resulting in the deaths of thousands of people. In Turkey, approximately 500 industrial fires occur annually. According to findings by the Chamber of Chemical Engineers (KMO) Istanbul Branch, 529 industrial fires and explosions occurred in Turkey in 2023. In these industrial fires and explosions that took place, 22 people lost their lives while 152 were injured. Despite all this, all these fires potentially threaten nature as well. Anıl Yamaner, General Manager of Falckon, which provides industrial firefighting services on-site at Turkey's largest industrial facilities, noted that industrial organizations must be more conscious and proactive to prevent environmental disasters, stating: "Industrial fires and explosions not only endanger human life but also cause significant damage to natural ecosystems. Meanwhile, our country has nearly 5,000 chemical facilities, including major corporations among them. Hazardous substances are highly flammable and release toxic substances. Large fires at such production sites have the potential to affect the population, the environment and the ecosystem. For this reason, industrial facilities must be structured to prevent fires if possible, or to enable immediate intervention when they occur, for the sake of a sustainable future." Identifying risks correctly Drawing attention to the fact that industrial fires occur most frequently in the chemical, paper, textile, metal/automotive and plastics sectors, Anıl Yamaner said that in such institutions, risks must be correctly identified and industrial firefighting services must be obtained. Stating that the basic duty of municipal fire departments is to limit damage to the environment, Yamaner said: "Having an emergency management system in daily facility operations that monitors potential fire risks is of great importance for preventing fires. The greatest risk is the risk we are not aware of. This is where the professionalism and expertise of emergency response teams come into play. It is essential to have an expert team on hand at all times at industrial facilities, ready to respond to potential fires and familiar with the facility. Municipal firefighting teams work to first contain the fire for safety reasons and then, if possible, extinguish it. However, the primary duty of industrial firefighters within the facility is to prevent fires from breaking out, ensure personnel and environmental safety, and maintain business continuity. In this regard, we at Falckon provide integrated services for industrial organizations that include fire suppression services, fire training and fire consulting. We prepare and protect all facilities to international standards so that employees and production at these facilities are not affected by fires. We serve with over 300 firefighting teams at many leading industrial organizations in Turkey," he said.