Toolbox Talk · ~5 minutes

# Hot Work & Fire Watch

The fire from hot work usually starts after the torch is off — smouldering in the wall cavity or the pile of debris nobody moved, while everyone's packing up.

[Print the sign-in sheet](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=toolbox-talk-sign-in#form-library)
[All toolbox talks](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks.html)

## How to run it

Read it through once, then talk it — don't recite it. Five minutes
at the start of the shift, crew standing where the work happens.
Under O. Reg. 213/91, s. 14(3)–(4), the talk is held by a
supervisor or a competent person the supervisor appoints — and the
sign-in sheet is what proves it happened.

## Talk through these points

- Hot work means a check before the sparks: what's within reach of sparks and heat — including the other side of the wall?

- Move the combustibles or shield them. Ontario's construction regulation (O. Reg. 213/91, ss. 122-124) requires precautions against fire for welding and cutting — this is that, on paper.

- Charged extinguisher within reach — not 'somewhere on site.' The person doing the work knows exactly where.

- A fire watch during the work and AFTER it — smoulders surface long after the torch stops. Assign a name, not a vibe.

- Permits aren't bureaucracy: the hot work permit is the checklist that catches the one thing you'd have missed.

- Gas cylinders upright, secured, capped when idle, hoses inspected. The fuel side of hot work deserves its own respect.

## Ask the crew

- Where would sparks land that we haven't looked — floor openings, the far side?

- Who is the fire watch on today's cutting, by name?

- How long do we actually watch after the torch stops?

The answers are the real talk. If a question lands on a live hazard,
write it down and assign it a name and a date.

## Paper it

A talk without a record didn't happen, as far as anyone who asks is
concerned. Print these free:

[Toolbox talk sign-in sheet](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=toolbox-talk-sign-in#form-library)
[Hot work authorization permit](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=hot-work-permit#form-library)
[Fire watch checklist](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools?form=fire-watch-checklist#form-library)

## A new talk every week.

The toolbox talks page rotates a featured topic weekly — bookmark it, or grab the talk by email every Monday.

[This week’s talk](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks.html)
[Next: Confined Space Awareness](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/confined-space-awareness.html)

[PPE: Fit, Care & the Reasons](https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/ppe-fit-and-care.html)
[All 126 contractor forms](https://bluecraneworks.ca/tools#form-library)

## Next, from Blue Crane

- [**Safe Work Procedure template**Write the procedure this talk refers to](https://bluecraneworks.ca/safe-work-procedure-template.html)

- [**Field Level Hazard Assessment**The form the crew fills in before the work starts](https://bluecraneworks.ca/field-level-hazard-assessment-flha.html)

- [**Document Control Systems**Sign-offs, certs and safety records, provable in under a minute](https://bluecraneworks.ca/solutions/document-control.html)

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Source: https://bluecraneworks.ca/toolbox-talks/hot-work-fire-watch