Burners Ignited While Retracted Resulting in Fire Damage to Recovery Boiler Wind Boxes

Location: Prince George

Regulated industry sector: Gas

Incident overview

Natural gas-fired hearth burners were operated while retracted instead of fully inserted, creating an unsafe condition that allowed flames to concentrate inside the wind boxes rather than the furnace. This resulted in fire damage to three of four wind boxes, with two casings burned through and a third sustaining minor damage. Contributing factors to this incident include: burners left in a retracted position with safety interlocks overridden, insufficient operator training, and a long-standing practice of bypassing established safety procedures.