Combining forces

The Unified Fire Service Amsterdam is a stepping stone for cooperation in a strongly developing port area, write Marleen van de Kerkhof and Kees Kappetijn.

A public-private partnership in the largest gasoline port in the world aims to create an unparalleled safety model that is expected to help the Dutch capital’s future growth.

Containing the fifth largest seaport in Western Europe and the third largest airport in Europe, Amsterdam has only one ambition for safety: making it the top priority.

When certain risks are clearly caused by industrial organisations, it is only fair that those organisations take responsibility in preventing and minimising those risks by developing and organising response capabilities in case of fires, spills or other industrial incidents. Consequently, the Regional Safety Authority, the Port Authority, and over 20 industrial companies have decided to join forces to develop a safety organisation for Amsterdam's port and industrial areas that aims to be operational at the end of 2019.

It is envisaged that the new organisation will start out as a fire service for industrial, maritime and urban fire and rescue and from there grow into a safety platform that encompasses the law enforcement and environmental authorities as well as the port's industrial sector.

The Port of Amsterdam is a strong supporter of this initiative and will take the lead in the first years of development, bringing all stakeholders to the table. Why? Because safety is not only a core value for firm spatial and economic development, it also strengthens the position of the port and attracts new business and investments. Amsterdam is the largest city in the Netherlands with approximately 860,000 inhabitants and a metropolitan area that encompasses close to 1.4 million. A sea lock near IJmuiden connects it to the North Sea and the substantial maritime transport routes beyond.

The lock marks the beginning of an industrial zone that starts with the blast furnace facilities of Tata Steel and ends with the various tank storage facilities of Vopak, Oiltanking, and Eurotank in the Port of Amsterdam.

The area has more than 25 companies in the Seveso category and 55 in the ISPS category, each with special and specific safety regimes. The port is the largest gasoline port in the world, the second largest coal port in Europe, and houses various business clusters that process agriproducts such as cocoa and potable alcohols. Moreover, in between these industrial activities around 190 sea cruise ships per year thread their way to the passenger terminal in the heart of Amsterdam. That daily transport movement between Amsterdam and IJmuiden is equivalent to a floating apartment building with an average of 2,150 people on board, or 400,000 people a year.

The city has its challenges. Though the port and industrial areas are already built up against the city, 70,000 new homes and apartments are planned in the coming years to even begin satisfying the growing market demands; large portions of the building space will have to be found in the harbour area.

The Port of Amsterdam has more than 25 companies in the Seveso category and 55 in the ISPS category, each with special and specific safety regimes. The port is the largest gasoline port in the world and the second largest coal port in Europe.

This in a city that is very dense in the way it is built, with a charming yet complex system of water management consisting of canals, streams, and lakes. The existing use of the city already takes a toll on its accessibility and on the throughput of transport, and this pressure will only increase in the future with more inhabitants, more tourists, and more economic activities. Moreover, the nature of the industrial activities in the port is to change: the aim is to make the transition from fossil energy sources such as oil and coal to solar, wind and hydrogen, and to develop commercial activities that contribute to a bio-based and circular economy.

The task facing Amsterdam has some logical conditions. Whatever might be put in motion, it should be sustainable from a people, planet and profit perspective, with support from the community and compliant with national and European regulatory frameworks. Above all, it should be safe. The construction and development processes should run smoothly and safely, and the structural safety situation that is being aimed for should adhere to the newest insights as well.

With regards to safety in the harbour, Amsterdam’s stakeholders – including corporate and governmental – have united. From a shared awareness that the challenges of the future cannot be carried by an individual local authority such as the Amsterdam municipality, the Regional Safety Authority, or even by a singular company or clustered industrial group, stakeholders have joined forces in the form of a public-private partnership.

Though the responsibilities per stakeholder are different, safety is the result of interaction and cooperation between those same stakeholders. The Amsterdam municipality, the Regional Safety Authority, the Environmental Service for the North Sea Canal Area, 20 to 40 larger industrial companies from the port area (partly unified in AMAS, the Amsterdam Mutual Aid System) and the Port of Amsterdam are working together to shape safe surroundings to work and live in.

The short-term ambition is to have a unified firefighting organisation operational within the coming two years that is prepared for all fires and incident types that might occur in a complex port and industrial area.

The long-term aim is to build a platform where these parties, both public and private, can come together to work on further developing the different facets of safety in the region, which include fire, water and environmental considerations, as well as preventing political subversion and cyber-crime. The cooperation consists of: sharing information; learning from evaluation; joint training and exercising; risk-centred supervision; and joint enforcement action.

Amsterdam is not unique in the development of a unified fire service for its port area. Other sea ports such as Rotterdam and Moerdijk, as well as Schiphol Airport, have already undertaken similar initiatives, although outside of The Netherlands such cooperation appears to be less common. However, the long-term ambition of a cooperative partnership to establish an integral safety centre for the port does distinguish Amsterdam from other ports in the Netherlands and Europe. The same goes for the proposed governance and contribution models of the UFSA: the Regional Safety Authority, thePort of Amsterdam, and industry will establish an organisation with ajoint safety goal, in which each of the three parties will pay their third of the bill.

Kees Kappetijn is consultant and owner of Kappetijn Safety Specialists. The consultancy helps with the design and establishment of emergency service organisations, and specialises in PPP-cooperative relationshipsand mutual aid in port and industrial areas.

Marleen van de Kerkhof is state harbour master of the Port of Amsterdam and director of central nautical management for the North Sea Canal Area.

The Unified Fire Service Amsterdam will provide operational strength for incidents in the Port of Amsterdam.

Organising together, governing together, responsible together, and contributing together, the Unified Fire Service Amsterdam will be a reality in 2019. The Port of Amsterdam is the driving force of this process and will guide the project with the Regional Safety Authority and the port industry.

The UFSA will be a unit that provides operational strength for industrial, maritime, and ‘regular’ fires and incidents in the public space of the harbour area. Tank and bund firefighting will be a specialised task of the unit.

The UFSA will be housed in a central location in the harbour and will be manned 24/7 by a basic six-person, two-vehicle staff. The turnout time for almost all organisations in the area will be six minutes, with a maximum of eight. The two primary turnout vehicles will be a TS4i (an industrial water tender, equipped for at least four people) and an AS2 (industrial water tender with a large-capacity pump, roof monitor, and multiple cubic meters of water and foaming agent on board, equipped for at least two people). The UFSA housing will be part of a planned logistics centre with maintenance facilities from the Amsterdam Fire Brigade. This centre will also provide storage space for materials and 60m³ of foaming agent for tank firefighting from the tank storage companies that make up AMAS.

The participating companies will incorporate the availability of a corporate fire brigade outside of their own site into their individual safety management systems and into the setup of their personal emergency service. The guidelines laid out by the control room of the Regional Safety Authority will dictate the alarm, turnout, and deployment procedures. The unit's profile as regards training, exercising and drills will be primarily determined by the risks and the credible and normative scenarios of the companies actively contributing to the unit.

The quality label for service provider training is likely to be provided by the Joint Oil Industry Fire Forum (Joiff) as the independent association for industrial hazard management and corporate fire brigades.

The advantage of the UFSA for the Regional Safety Authority is that operational clout will be made available in an area that currently has noticeably long turnout times. The advantage for industry lies in the availability of a corporate fire brigade with a fast turnout time and secured capacity and expertise in the corporate processes of each of the member companies. It is expected that this will contribute to increasing the resilience of a company after an incident, securing business continuity.

The UFSA will be set up as a legal entity in its own right, functioning independently from each of its three parent organisations. Broadly speaking, The Netherlands has three organisational models for this type of safety organisation: part of a public entity (eg a safety authority), part of a private entity (an industrial organisation), or independent. Similarly to the Unified Fire Brigade in Rotterdam and the safety organisation of the Chemelot chemical cluster in Sittard- Geleen, Amsterdam chose the independent organisational model. Industry members organised themselves through an independent platform that could then be tied to the newly established entity of the UFSA. AMAS will continue to exist as a platform to acquire equipment and foam for tank fire-fighting. The members of AMAS will also become members of the UFSA.

The UFSA will be governed by a board of six members. Two seats will be filled by the Regional Safety Authority, two by the unified industry, and two by the Port of Amsterdam. This creates an equally balanced board, where neither the public nor the private partners can push through unwanted developments. The Port of Amsterdam fulfils the role of facilitator in this setup, due to both its entrepreneurial/ commercial (more market-oriented) tasks and its controlling and supervising (more public) functions.

Regarding the exploitation of the UFSA, it has been agreed that each of the participants will take on a third of the total budget. In the first years of the start-up phase, the share of the Port of Amsterdam may be a little larger. The goal is to shrink that share to less than one third over the coming years, as more companies become members of the unit.

For the Port of Amsterdam, the UFSA is a stepping stone – the first irreversible step towards cooperation between organisations that want to further build on port safety in the most optimal way in the future.

The first step organises the operational means to be able to quickly and effectively act during special scenarios. However, the aim is to come together to think of systems and concepts that reduce the probability of various types of incidents and to make information and data available to each other that has predictive value when it comes to the conception of these incidents.

The government works with information about all types of criminal activities; the licensing authorities and supervisors know the regulatory frameworks within which companies can and should operate; the road, water, and railway authorities have expertise in the planning of transport movements; and the fire brigade has insight into when and where fires can start. The combination of this information makes incidents and criminal activity almost predictable.

Aside from the availability of good and quick operational response methods for port-related incidents, the interest of the Port of Amsterdam lies in the joint commitment of stakeholders to create a climate that is as attractive as possible for potential companies to settle in the port area. Companies that are already present should find it a compelling reason to stay, while for new companies it may be a reason to choose Amsterdam over other ports in the Le Havre-Hamburg region. This is not just because safety in Amsterdam has been made more accessible, but because safety can play a valuable role in the image of a company.

Finally, with the Port of Amsterdam fulfilling its role as relationship broker with due diligence, the obstacles regarding the different types of responsibilities for individual organisations should also be low, which means that issues around settlement, investment and construction can be resolved quickly and professionally.

In the loop

Technical knowledge, customer service, and a local presence have been vital ingredients for providing an effective fire-fighting system for a major storage tank terminal in the Netherlands.

Mueller Super Centurion 220 hydrants and Pratt PIVA butterfly valve. Top: aerial view of Port of Amsterdam. (Shutterstock)

As a result of close co-operation between manufacturer, distributor and client, a fire-water main replacement project at a major storage tank terminal in Port of Amsterdam is nearing completion with the installation of 95 butterfly valves and 77 hydrants.

Work on the project began around five years ago, when it was identified that the 40-year-old fire-water main was reaching the end of its life. Since its original installation, new national guidance had been introduced with higher-capacity specifications for a fire-fighting system: PGS29 Bovengrondse opslag van brandbare vloeistoffen in vertical cilindrische tanks (Above-ground storage of flammable liquids in vertical cylindrical tanks). Under the new guidance, the existing water main was deemed too small for the risk posed by a fire in the recently-expanded storage-tank facility.

The project involved three fire loops with a total length of 5.5km, protecting three areas in the terminal using either water from a fire-fighting water tank or marine water taken directly from the Port of Amsterdam.

To ensure a smooth supply, the terminal operator decided to purchase the materials directly and issued two tenders in 2016, one for piping and one for hydrants and valves. The latter was won by Saint-Gobain PAM Nederland and Mueller Co in November the same year.

An order for 77 hydrants and 95 butterfly valves is considered significant in European terms, where new installation projects are few and far between when compared to growth areas such as the Middle East. “In Europe, most projects are upgrades, refurbishments, or expansion of existing sites,” explains Ranjit Kanvinde, regional sales manager (Europe) for hydrant/valve manufacturer Mueller Co. “We are noticing a fair degree of focus on tank storage facilities, as countries with large reserves of natural resources look to grow. Also, possibly as a result of changing global trade relations, people are building on what storage they already have in case it is a strategic need.”

The hydrant model selected was the three-way, FM-approved and UL-listed Mueller Super Centurion 250 hydrant with a 250psig (17Barg) maximum working pressure. Also selected was the Pratt PIVA butterfly valve (10-inch/DN250 and 16-inch/ DN400), a manually-operated, buried valve with a torque spring that maintains an open position if the valve indicator is damaged.

Mueller worked closely with its distributor in the Netherlands, Saint-Gobain PAM Nederland, to fulfil the order. As well as working with the contractor carrying out the installation, the distributor dealt directly with the client: “It’s preferable to have a contract with the final asset owner,” says Esther Lindeman, sales and marketing manager at Saint- Gobain. A direct relationship with the specialist design team contracted to oversee the project ensures quick decisionmaking and effective project management: “Otherwise, the risk is that the hydrants and valves are delivered too late, which

would impact not only on the actual installation company’s time but also on the specialist design team contracted to oversee the project. And these types of teams tend to move from one project to another very quickly.” I

In the Netherlands, adds Lindeman, dealing directly with the client is common. “We are a small country and it is relatively easy to travel to wherever the client is based. In this case, that is only 50km from our headquarters in Almere.”

Delivery of a first shipment consisting of 30 hydrants was scheduled for the end of December 2016, which meant the manufacturer was under pressure to deliver. However, Mueller Co managed to turn them around in four weeks, even with Christmas in the way. The balance of the hydrants were delivered at the end of January 2017. The butterfly valves followed in another four shipments over the course of the following months, between February and May last year.

One of the main challenges was dealing with the documentation requirements of the client. As well as technical drawings and relevant FM approval certificates, these included full audit trails of all communications as well as weekly progress reports on delivery schedules. “This is not unusual, of course, but often the reporting and documentation side is more onerous than the delivery of the product,” says Kanvinde.

As the hydrants and valves were initially warehoused at Saint- Gobain’s facilities, the equipment was delivered to site as required by the contractor. “From our perspective, Saint- Gobain added a lot of value to this project by giving the client the flexibility and peace of mind that the equipment was in the country ready for installation,” says Kanvinde. 'As they were in the country, they were also at hand to solve any local issues.”

“It was a partnership,” says Lindeman. “We really needed Mueller for the technical knowledge of the products, because it’s not just a matter of sending product to the client, but everything around it.”

The first two fire-water mains have been installed and are now operational. Complicating factors included the large amount of pipeline running under the ground. Constraints included the lack of working space as well as the fact that the existing fire-water main had to remain operational during the installation of the new loops. “We are into the snagging now, and sitting with all the relevant parties to ensure everything is finished as the client wants it,” says Kanvinde. Lindeman adds that conversations are also turning towards future maintenance requirements. “Although the system won’t need a lot of maintenance we do need to offer some spare parts, or at least point out which parts may be needed in the future, so that we can sort out the possibility of stocking them.”

The final stage of the project was expected to be complete by the end of August 2018.

INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL third quarter 2018

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Expanding protection

An automatic extinguishing system must be versatile enough to combat fire wherever it may be, lest the unextinguished flames return with a vengeance, writes Andras T Peller.

A major storage tank company in Hungary is considering expanding the fixed fire-fighting foam system protecting one storage tank to protect a further three storage tanks plus associated loading/unloading areas and bunds. The Hungarian unit of German energy-logistics firm Oiltanking has relied on the first generation of the PI Foam System to protect a gasoline-storage tank at its Csepel Island terminal on the Danube River since 2001. As part of its renovation plans, the company asked Sarnen-based Swiss Fire Protection R&D to devise a blueprint for expanding the fire-protection scheme.

The resulting study, detailed in the following paragraphs, illustrates the relative simplicity of expanding the PI Foam System from a single tank to a facility-wide fire-fighting installation.

The PI Foam System is unique because it is built around a pressurised vessel that generates foam without relying on pumps. The vessel is linked to designated areas of an industrial facility through a network of temperature-resistant pipes. When fire strikes, sensors send a signal that opens the vessel’s valves, unleashing a massive wave of foam that inundates the flames within seconds.

The PI Foam System’s speed and intensity minimises property damage and keeps firefighters safe. And since it is not limited by the capacity of pumps, it is scalable to any industrial area, regardless of size.

Oiltanking Hungary requested a plan for a PI Foam System at its Csepel terminal that could guarantee uninterrupted foam supply for all four of its fuel-storage tanks, their corresponding bund areas, pump stations, and the loading areas for trains, trucks, and barges. The tank farm consists of one ring-walled, fixed-roof gasoline tank with a capacity of 5,000m 3 and three fixed-roof insulated diesel-oil tanks with bund areas, two with capacities of 5,000m 3 and one with a capacity of 2,000m 3 .

As envisioned by Oiltanking, the system should be able to handle a worst-case scenario of simultaneous fires at the facility’s biggest storage tank and its bund areas. The tank with the largest surface area spans 1,489m 2 and its bund covers 389m 2 , for a combined fire surface of 1,878m 2 . That is equal to the area of a single storage tank with a diameter of 43.5m.

A plan to expand the PI Foam system to protect all four storage tanks is under consideration.

A PI Foam system protects the gasoline storage tank at Oiltanking Hungary's terminal on Csepel Island.

SFPRD’s engineers approached the design by dividing the Oiltanking terminal into four extinguishment zones, the largest of which (5,270m 2 ) comprises all four storage tanks. Each of these zones are linked to two foam-storage vessels, each with a capacity of 38m 3 , via an independent network of branch pipes. The vessels are located in a tempered area to protect against both freezing temperatures and direct sunlight.

The branch pipes’ diameter depends on the surface area of the zone they cover. Should a fire break out, only the flood valve of the corresponding header will open, meaning the other headers remain dry. Within a given zone, valves only open if they are required to extinguish a fire.

The dispensers introduce the foam directly onto the fire surface. Once extinguishment is complete, any combustible liquid and foam precipitate is collected into a pit that empties into a drainage system separate from the sewage system, to prevent pollution. All foam that remains in the pressure vessel and pipeline is reusable.

Supplementary devices such as monitors or hoses can be connected to the PI Foam System’s branches, making it possible to target small-scale fires as well as large ones. System failure is highly unlikely due to the low number of moving parts. In addition, operating expenses are dramatically lower than the cost of maintaining teams of firefighters to protect a plant 24 hours a day.

SFPRD is currently designing PI Foam Systems for high-rise buildings and freight ships. The system is so flexible that it can offer total protection to practically any facility.

Final approval for the expansion of the PI system at Oiltanking Hungary’s facilities is expected shortly.

Andras T Peller is director at Swiss Fire Protection R&D

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INDUSTRIAL FIRE JOURNAL third quarter 2018