Small-bore pipelines used by a company to fill liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders were modified some years ago so that more cylinders could be filled at once, and were not protected from impact.
As a result, when the filling system malfunctioned and a cylinder toppled over, one of the pipes was dislodged, releasing LPG that ignited and caused a massive fire last year.
One Chinese worker was killed and two others were injured.
The workers, who were operating the filling station in Summit Gas Systems' Jalan Buroh site, were not wearing fire-retardant clothing, and their escape route was blocked by cylinders.
Another factor contributing to the accident was the emergency shutdown button for the filling line being located at the other end of the filling shed, with no other workers nearby to activate it when the fire started. LPG thus continued to flow into the supply line after the pipe was dislodged, fuelling the fire.
These were among the findings in a learning report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday.
This is the first learning report published after a measure was introduced in 2018 to allow MOM to share recommendations and learning points from accidents without waiting for criminal proceedings to be concluded, which could take as long as three years from the date of the accident. The reports are not admissible in court proceedings and do not state liability.
The fire in the Jurong industrial area broke out on June 21 last year and took about 120 firefighters more than two hours to bring under control.
It involved hundreds of highly flammable LPG cylinders at the bottling and storage facility occupied by Summit Gas Systems - a subsidiary of Union Energy Corporation, which supplies LPG cylinders to homes and businesses.
The report noted: "Workers were not familiar with the actions to be taken in the event of an emergency."
Singapore aims to reduce its annual workplace fatality rate to less than one death per 100,000 workers before 2028, a target set by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2017. In 2018, the three-year average rate was 1.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
The learning report, published by the Commissioner for Workplace Safety and Health, made several recommendations for workplaces that store and handle flammable substances like LPG:
• Protect small-bore pipelines from external impact with barricades or guards.
• Have a master shutdown button to stop the entire gas filling operation if needed.
• Ensure that workers in areas where LPG or other flammable substances are present wear fire-retardant clothing to protect them against burns and make it easier for them to escape during emergencies.
• Plan and implement an effective emergency response to any fire or explosion, and appoint and train people to activate emergency cut-offs of the main supply of flammable substances.
• Address possible new hazards from improvements to operations.
• Ensure that electrical equipment and wiring do not pose a fire hazard.
• Maintain a safe distance between LPG cylinder storage areas and other parts of the workplace to minimise the spread of a fire.
MOM has uploaded the report on its website and will disseminate it via the workplace safety and health bulletin, unions and business associations.
The ministry is continuing its investigation into the responsibilities of various parties involved in the Summit Gas Systems accident.
Later this year, it will release another learning report on a fatal crane accident that took place at a Novena worksite last November.
