Services · Asset Integrity and Engineering Consulting
Fire Damage Assessment per API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11
After a plant fire the question is which equipment can return to service and which cannot. The assessment infers peak metal temperature across the affected footprint and converts that reading into an item-by-item fitness-for-service decision by TCR Advanced Engineering.
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In brief
TCR Advanced Engineering, Vadodara, India, delivers and signs fire damage assessment of refinery and process equipment to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11, a fitness-for-service assessment that zones the damaged footprint, Zone I to VI, by inferred peak temperature; TCR Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd., Navi Mumbai, carries out the hardness and in-situ metallographic surveys and the deformation analysis that feed it, with testing in its NABL ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory.
What fire damage assessment is and who delivers it
Fire damage assessment is part of the group's asset integrity and engineering consulting work: a fitness-for-service assessment per API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11, the fire-damage part of the Fitness for Service code, delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering on site inspection and laboratory test evidence from TCR Engineering.
- Governing code: API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11, the fire-damage part of the Fitness for Service code.
- Zoning: the damaged plant footprint is mapped into temperature zones, Zone I through Zone VI, by inferred peak temperature.
- Metallurgical evidence: hardness and in-situ metallographic surveys map the heat-affected zones.
- Mechanical evidence: deformation analysis where members have distorted.
- Closes with: structural condition assessment and a post-fire Fitness for Service run, delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering, which draw the repair-versus-replace boundary on measurement.
The governing standards
Fire damage on process equipment is assessed to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11.
| Standard | Scope |
|---|---|
| API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11 | Fire damage assessment of process equipment |
The temperature-zone method
The damaged footprint is divided into six zones by inferred peak temperature, from Zone I to Zone VI, so that inspection and repair effort concentrates where the metal actually saw the highest heat.
- Six zones: Zone I to Zone VI, assigned by inferred peak temperature.
- Why zone it: inspection and repair effort concentrates where the metal actually saw the highest heat.
- Assignment evidence: hardness mapping and in-situ metallographic surveys of the heat-affected zones, with deformation analysis where members have distorted.
Representative engagements
The group has assessed fire damage on refinery process assets; the fitness-for-service work is delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering.
- HMEL Bathinda VGO reactor: Fitness for Service of the VGO reactor following a 2024 fire, under API 579-1 Part 11, delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering.
- Baiji Refinery, Iraq: damage assessment of hydrocracker reactors.
- Reliance Industries, Jamnagar: damage assessment after the VGO-HT2 fire.
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Frequently asked questions
Which standard governs fire damage assessment at TCR?
API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11 governs fire damage assessment of process equipment such as pressure vessels, piping, reactors and storage tanks. TCR Advanced Engineering applies it to map heat exposure across the damaged footprint and decides, item by item, whether equipment can return to service, needs repair, or must be replaced, on hardness and metallographic evidence from TCR Engineering.
How does TCR map the extent of fire damage?
TCR Advanced Engineering maps the extent of fire damage by dividing the damaged plant footprint into heat exposure zones, Zone I through Zone VI, by inferred peak temperature, then confirming each zone with hardness and in-situ metallographic surveys of the heat-affected material, carried out by TCR Engineering, and with deformation analysis where members have distorted.
What does a fire damage assessment conclude?
A fire damage assessment concludes in a post-fire Fitness for Service assessment to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11, delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering, and a repair-versus-replace boundary drawn on measurement, so that each item of equipment is returned to service, repaired or replaced on evidence rather than on its appearance after the fire.
Has TCR assessed refinery fire damage?
Yes. The group assessed the HMEL Bathinda VGO reactor following a 2024 fire, with the Fitness for Service of the VGO reactor under API 579-1 Part 11 delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering, led the damage assessment after the VGO-HT2 fire at Reliance Industries, Jamnagar, and carried out damage assessment of hydrocracker reactors at Baiji Refinery, Iraq.
Can a fire damage assessment support an insurance claim?
Yes. Fire damage assessment, delivered and signed by TCR Advanced Engineering, anchors post-loss engineering work for insurers and surveyors as well as plant owners. The measured heat exposure zones, the hardness and metallographic evidence and the Fitness for Service result to API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Part 11 from TCR Advanced Engineering give the claim a documented basis for which equipment was damaged and which was not.