Fire Safety

A fi re in a printing company probably doesn’t sound like it could end up well – with all the hundreds of tons of paper in stock at any given time, it might seem like a match factory at fi rst. However, that can’t be further from the truth! Paper that has been wound into reels is so dense and full of mineral coatings that there isn’t enough air to create a sustainable fi re. If anything, the fi rst layers of paper would scorch and prevent the fi re from spreading inwards.

What did happen at Kroonpress in May 2017 was a malfunction of a waste compactor motor inside its designated room, which is an unattended space. The malfunction caused the motor to overheat and ignite paper dust on the compactor, eventually spreading the fi re to the walls and crawling up inside the wall panel. As smoke started to seep into the interior of the building, alarms went off and all fi re safety procedures were put into effect. Fire brigades invaded the scene shortly thereafter and tore down a part of the exterior wall panel to reach the source of fi re. Nobody was hurt or suffered smoke damages in this incident and production inside resumed within an hour and a half.

Due to this event, we upgraded our fi re detection services and held further hands-on training for all employees. Even though a fi re at a printing company ignited a big media response, our effi cient actions on-site and good fi re prevention procedures helped contain the situation quickly and calmly.

GREENLINE PRINT.COM