PHYSICAL HAZARDS

The term “line of fire” is a commonly discussed task in the work place (in harm’s way). The type injuries occur when the path of a moving object intersects with an individual’s body.

Three major categories of line of fire incidents are caught-in or between incidents, struck-by incidents, and released energy incidents.

Examples for each category are shown below:

• Caught-in or between- A construction worker is standing between a wall and an excavator. When the excavator spins around the counter weight pins the worker against the wall.
• Struck-by- A pedestrian struck-by a moving vehicle or an object falling from a higher level striking a worker below are examples of struck-by incidents.
• Released energy- A pipe releasing hot steam from a valve that is being removed or metal banding snapping back at an employee after being cut are examples of released energy.

You should try to eliminate the hazards that cause these incidents whenever possible. By eliminating the hazards there is no chance that you or anyone else in the work area can be injured by that hazard however, elimination is not always feasible and engineering controls may not be possible. In addition, engineering controls can fail with catestrophic consequences. As such, it is important to decrease your chance of being a victim of line of fire injuries by not putting yourself in harm’s way in the first place.

Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen or what will happen if a certain safeguard fails. Alway sbe aware of line of fire hazards and act accordingly.