OSHA: ‘Disabled’ Red Hill Firefighting System Put Employees In Danger

TL;DR - For at least a year, workers at the Navy’s Red Hill fuel complex were managing millions of gallons of petroleum – and welding with sparks flying – while the main fire suppression system was not fully functioning, according to records Civil Beat obtained via the Freedom of Information Act.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Navy have different stories about what happened. But both parties agree that during a yearlong period, the system would automatically deploy only water on a fuel fire, which OSHA said would exacerbate and spread a blaze. Meanwhile, the mechanism for automatically deploying firefighting foam was disengaged.

The Navy said its systems were “never insufficient” and that fires could be extinguished manually, but OSHA said the main system was totally “disabled” and that workers were left vulnerable.

June 3, 2022: OSHA: ‘Disabled’ Red Hill Firefighting System Put Employees In Danger, Honolulu Civil Beat