Morrison Hershfield evaluated these requirements for the risk to life safety, property loss and economic impact in the event of an emergency.  The benchmarks for the evaluation were based on Petro-Canada's risk tolerances, codes, and insurance guidelines to provide an acceptable level of risk. 

This Petro-Canada refinery has been in operation since the 1950’s.  Some of the fire protection infrastructure dating from the original plant was in need of upgrading.  The piping system, especially the underground portion, was vulnerable to deterioration.  This deterioration and the knowledge that the system does not meet the current needs of the plant concerned Petro-Canada Fire and Safety personnel.

Our report provided Petro-Canada with a review of the standards that needed to be met with the current refinery and the proposed expansions as well as an analysis of the ability of the existing system.  A state-of-art computer model of the system provided a planning tool and a means to analyze the impact of a fire at any point in the plant, and identificiation of the necessary upgrades that any proposed plant expansion would require.  The report identified the actions that Petro-Canada needed to undertake and the likely capital cost to bring the existing system up to current standards.

Our role included:

• Standards and Code Review - the review of the various codes, standards and jurisdictions relating to the water supply for refinery plant firefighting and protection use.  Deficiencies of the existing system, as compared to each standard, were highlighted
• Firewater System Model - including the following model set-up and calibration, testing the system against the current and recommending design standards, developing system improvements to resolve deficiencies, and developing cost estimates
• Report and Implementation Plan Development