IOC fire: From basic checks to systems, guidelines ignored
Jaipur 04-Jul-2010

The IndianOil (IOC) depot blaze in October, which claimed 11 lives, injured more than a 100 and led to the loss of close to 10 crore litres of fuel, might have been averted had basic safety norms set by the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) and IOC itself been followed.

The police investigation, that resulted in the arrest of nine IOC officials including its Rajasthan general manager on Friday, has thrown up startling facts about the blatant violations at the depot. While the arrested officials have been remanded in judicial custody till July 17, senior police officials stated that more arrests might follow, particularly after the completion of the OISD investigation.

Speaking with The Indian Express, Jaipur Additional Superintendent of Police (AdSP) Yogesh Goyal, who investigated the incidents surrounding the IOC fire, said safety guidelines put in place to avoid or control such an incident were ignored:

The automated system that controlled operation of all 11 storage tanks destroyed in the fire had been dysfunctional for months. If this system had been working, the push of a single button would have closed all storage tanks, preventing leaks.

The last safety audit was conducted at the storage in 2003, preceded by one in 1997. The six-year gaps between the audits went against all safety norms.
No safety audit or scrutiny of the depot was conducted even though the CBI just two months before the fire in August had arrested a depot manager and 11 others for pilfering fuel from this very IOC depot.
Though a GM inspection has to be done every year in accordance with IOC rules, not a single GM inspection report had been filed at the Sitapura IOC depot.
While the guidelines expressly state that the district authorities must pass on information about the smallest leak, IOC personnel took more than an hour to bring the district administration up to speed.
A call was placed to GM Gautam Bose after the leak was detected, but the police stated that he first got in touch with terminal manager Arun Pottdar and then with senior operations manager Shashank Shekar. The trio then drove to a gym to pick up senior terminal manager K S Kanodia and only then headed to the depot.
The depot had neither a public address system to warn surrounding establishments of the leak nor even a basic landline telephone at the main gate to relay information. Strangely, the only emergency gate for IOC personnel had been walled off months ago due to "security reasons", IOC personnel told police.
Not a single diagram or set of emergency instructions were in place. The security personnel did not even have a list of numbers to contact in case of an emergency.
Section 154 of OISD states that all depot personnel, whether regular, temporary or contract labourers, must have emergency training. The police found not a single contract or temporary labourer had ever been trained or taken part in a fire drill.
The depot had few or no oxygen masks and firefighting equipment.

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The term User shall refer to the user who is browsing the site. The term IndianOil shall refer to Indian Oil Corporation Limited. The term Site refers to www.iocl.com owned and monitored by IndianOil.
By using the Site, you agree to follow and be bound by the following terms and conditions concerning your use of the Site. IndianOil may revise the Terms of Use at any time without notice to you. Areas of the Site may have different terms of use posted. If there is a conflict between the Terms of Use and terms of use posted for a specific area of the Site, the latter shall have precedence with respect to your use of that area of the Site.
ndianOil may terminate User's access at any time for any reason. The provisions regarding to disclaimer of warranty, accuracy of information, and indemnification shall survive such termination. IndianOil may monitor access to the Site.
All content present on this site is the exclusive property of IndianOil. The software, text, images, graphics, video and audio used on this site belong to IndianOil. No material from this site may be copied, modified, reproduced, republished, uploaded, transmitted, posted or distributed in any form without prior written permission from IndianOil. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved. Unauthorized use of the materials appearing on this site may violate copyright, trademark and other applicable laws, and could result in criminal or civil penalties. IndianOil is a registered trademark of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. This trademark may not be used in any manner without prior written consent from IndianOil.
IndianOil does not make any warranties, express or implied, including, without limitation, those of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to any information, data, statements or products made available on the Site.
The Site, and all content, materials, information, software, products and services provided on the Site, are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. IndianOil expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
IndianOil shall have no responsibility for any damage to User's computer system or loss of data that results from the download of any content, materials, information from the Site.
IndianOil may change or discontinue any aspect of its website at any time, including, its content or features. IndianOil reserves the right to change the terms and conditions applicable to use of the Site. Such changes shall be effective immediately upon notice, which shall be placed on the Site.
In no event will IndianOil be liable for damages of any kind, including without limitation, direct, incidental or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, damages for lost profits, business interruption and loss of programs or information) arising out of the use of or inability to use IndianOil's website, or any information provided on the website, or in the Products any claim attributable to errors, omissions or other inaccuracies in the Product or interpretations thereof. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability. Accordingly, some of the above limitations may not apply to the User.
User agrees to indemnify, defend and hold IndianOil harmless from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or relating to any misuse by the User of the content and services provided on the Site.
The information contained in the Site has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. IndianOil disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information.
IndianOil makes no warranty that: (a) the Site will meet your requirements; (b) the Site will be available on an uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free basis; (c) the results that may be obtained from the use of the Site or any services offered through the Site will be accurate or reliable.
The User's right to privacy is of paramount importance to IndianOil. Any information provided by the User will not be shared with any third party. IndianOil reserves the right to use the information to provide the User a more personalized online experience.
The Site provides links to web sites and access to content, products and services from third parties, including users, advertisers, affiliates and sponsors of the Site. You agree that IndianOil is not responsible for the availability of, and content provided on, third party web sites. The User is requested to peruse the policies posted by other web sites regarding privacy and other topics before use. IndianOil is not responsible for third party content accessible through the Site, including opinions, advice, statements and advertisements, and User shall bear all risks associated with the use of such content. IndianOil is not responsible for any loss or damage of any sort User may incur from dealing with any third party.

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