Fire code violation contributed to Red Hill fuel leak, report finds

TL;DR - Navy officials and their contractors violated the Department of Defense’s fire code when they installed PVC piping instead of steel throughout a new fire suppression system at Red Hill. After recognizing the error in 2017, instead of fixing it, they chose to save on costs and replace only a small portion of the PVC piping.

The sloppy handling of the pipeline system, which was designed to deploy aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, a fire suppressant, was a major factor that led to fuel contaminating the Navy’s drinking water system in November, according to a Navy investigation into last year’s fuel spills at Red Hill that was released June 30. The PVC piping also increased the risk of a fire at the underground facility that currently holds more than 100 million gallons of fuel.

July 17, 2022: Fire code violation contributed to Red Hill fuel leak, report finds, Honolulu Star-Advertiser