Toolbox Talk: Hot Work Safety

Before you start

Bring a hot work permit and a fire extinguisher to show the crew. Hold the talk near where the work will happen if you can.

Read this to your crew

Hot work is any job that makes sparks, flame or heat: welding, torch cutting, brazing and grinding. Those sparks can fly more than 35 feet and land in cracks, under doors or in piles of trash where nobody is looking.

The dangerous part is that a fire often does not start right away. Sparks can smolder for half an hour or more before anything catches. That is why we keep someone watching after the welding stops.

Today we are covering three things: getting a permit, clearing the area, and keeping a fire watch.

Key points

Get the permit first. No hot work outside a designated area without a signed permit. The permit is the checklist, not paperwork for its own sake.
Clear 35 feet. Move combustibles at least 35 feet away. If you cannot move them, cover them with fire-resistant blankets and shield openings in walls and floors.
Keep a fire watch. A trained person with an extinguisher watches during the work and for at least 30 minutes after it ends. Many sites follow NFPA 51B, which calls for a one-hour watch followed by monitoring.
Check the atmosphere. Never do hot work where there could be flammable vapors or dust without testing first.
Stop if conditions change. Anyone can stop the job if something does not look right.

Ask the crew

Where on this site could a spark land that we would not see right away?
Who is our fire watch today, and where is their extinguisher?
What would make you stop a hot work job?

Picture this

A welder finishes a repair on a loading dock and leaves for lunch. No one stays behind. Twenty minutes later, sparks that fell through a gap in the floor light cardboard stored below. A fire watch would have spotted the smoke within minutes.

Print this page to use the sign-in sheet, or skip the paper and record attendance digitally in SafetyIQ.

Name

Company / crew

Signature

Talk leader: ______________ Date: ______________ Site: ______________