Electrical equipment in hazardous areas the participation of operations, maintenance, safety, electrical and instrumentation professionals, the use of process diagrams and material flows, MSDS and any pertinent documents, information and knowledge to determine the hazards and their extent and the countermeasures to be employed. Area classification documentations are reviewed and updated to reflect process changes. Soon after the introduction of electric power into coal mines, it was discovered that lethal explosions could be initiated by electrical equipment such as lighting, signals, or motors. The hazard of fire damp or methane accumulation in mines was well known by the time electricity was introduced, along with the
Pearse Street fire a farther hydrant. While they waited, two explosions were caused by the fire igniting cylinders of coal gas and oxygen stored at No.163 by a company which manufactured car batteries. This engulfed the three men and strengthened the blaze, which burned itself out the following morning. The bodies of the firemen were recovered that evening; they had died of carbon monoxide poisoning. A tribunal of inquiry was established by order of the Oireachtas, which criticised the fire brigade supervisors, the water company, and the battery company. The cause of the initial fire was not established; the inquiry ruled out arson