Well I am no expert but I would suggest that many things can go wrong when BC a FL. Hydrogen gas from batteries and sparks generally do not mix very well and garage workshops / warehouses can have many combustibles in close proximity to the unit and FL. I would suggest a specific area away from any operational activity, preferably with fire resistant shielding / walls to prevent / reduce spread. I have seen/used moveable FR 1200 x 2400 wall units to segregate welding activities and BC. Good ventilation and SSOW and electrical maintenance schedules are also essential. I was in the garage trade for 12 years and did warehouse management for 5 years and saw many fire risk scenarios presented by poorly maintained battery charging units and bad practise. I would need to do some research regarding the actual safe ignition distances as there are many variables to consider but personally at short notice I would suggest around 3 to 5 metres.

Shoot me down then…

In all cases i have seen the forklift and charger are right next to each other i certainly haven't seen many cases of them being 3-5 mtrs apart. My thought would be that you would need a source of ignition to combust the flammable gasses. with this in mind i would have thought charges would have been designed to contain any possible sources of ignition. also the connection and dis-connection procedure i would have thought would be important either by switching the power off before connecting or disconnecting.

Now days the connection between the charger and FL are moulded plugs i would have thought these might be designed to contain any spark when disconnecting the two. i think main consideration would be local ventilation and control of other equipment with in the area that might cause and ignition source. At my old company we had massive high level bay forklift these would be impossible to contain in a purpose built area not just because of their size but the number we had and the difficulty in manoeuvring such large pieces of equipment close enough into one area. However we did have very good extraction system in the area

Thanks Heather I thought the way the question and previous answer was worded we where talking about the forklift and the charger and flammable gases.

I guess the only consideration with the charger and nearby combustible materials would be if the charger put out and source of heat. never touched the side of a charger myself but i wouldn't have thought they would give out a great deal of heat? certainly no more than a domestic oven and we house these in a wooden box and seem to be able to sleep easy at night certainly covering up any vents like and electrical piece of equipment is going to cause issue. maybe checking the temperature when they are charging would help give and safe distance if it's needed.

Hopefully given the right answer to the right question this time.

Phil

I'm certainly not going to argue with your numbers Bleve. Why i think it is great in calculating these figure isn't enforcing them unrealistic or we are certainly looking at an idealistic world. I'm sure you as i have that people in the average work place do the most stupidest of things when it comes to fire safety with out a thought.

So not sure how you would looking at ensuring that calculations you have come up with would be enforced. i guess marking out the floor or some other might be one way to go but i think the management of the premises could easily ruin any good system put in place by yourself.

i guess if you can get a system in place at the start and have the right people in place to maintain it then i guess anything is possible. i would settle for employees not constantly blocking fire exit doors for the management to actually maintain the equipment on site i guess they have to start somewhere.

Red

"But fire risk assessment or fire safety should also take into account property protection in addition to life safety. Fire also has serious consequences even where fatality or injury does not take place"

Quite true. The leaning towards fatality only FRAs is quite wrong.

It can only be a benfit

Unless the charger is in a very small room, with a very low ceiling, no or very little ventilation coupled with prolonged charging then the issue of hydrogen gas, ignition and secondary ignition of other fuels is highly unlikeley. In fact I would go so far as to say it would not be possible to ignite other fuels following the ignition of what hydrogen had accumulated.

The guidance documents and the RR(FS) O require that the risk of fire based consider the presence of fuel and ignition sources.

Chargers & FLT's have been involved in fires and as such the must provide radiative and convective heat to their surroundings. Separation by distance reduces or eliminates this risk.

Let us not forget that adherence to the requirements of a guidance document means nowt and provides no protection in law

Why do HSE and other 'organisations such as Her Majesty's Government publish so many apparently useless guidance documents then?

Perhaps our tory / lib dem friends should stop all funding to HSE, Emergency Response, LAs, and the DCLGP as there publications mean 'nowt'.

Quite a remarkable statement!

Gidday,

GC