| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2009 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: 2 RE: [DCHAS-L] Methaneseleninic acid gloves? Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 08:15:04 -0500 Author: Beth Shepard |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: 2 RE: [DCHAS-L] Methaneseleninic acid gloves? Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2009 10:29:05 -0400 Author: ILPI |
A little more information on the fire at RPI. Sounds like a mix of technical and political questions is outstanding. - Ralph http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/06/30/news/doc4a49a77676fc70115276 00.txt http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/07/02/news/doc4a4c270441b2d1565168 53.txt 12 firefighters treated after fire Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 By James V. Franco The Record TROY =97 A two-alarm fire in a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute lab Monday evening sent 12 firefighters to the hospital for testing. =93When they got up to the third floor it was full of thick black smoke,=94 said Fire Chief Tom Garrett. =93We don=92t know what was burning or what these guys were exposed to.=94 As of 7:45 p.m., the firefighters were still at Samaritan Hospital undergoing blood work. He said while they were wearing masks and were in full turnout gear, the masks only cover part of their face. =93We hope everything works out well on the tests for these guys,=94 Garrett said. =93We have no idea what are in these labs. There are over 250 labs on campus and we don=92t know what=92s in them.=94 The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but Garrett said one female student in the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center was conducting an experiment. He said he did not know the type of experiment. Officials at RPI had this to say about the fire. =93A Rensselaer Public Safety officer was the first on the scene and was able to interview the student involved,=94 RPI spokeswoman Gabrielle DeMarco said Monday. =93The individual sustained burns on her hands and was taken to Samaritan Hospital. Our safety officials will begin a detailed investigation as soon as they have access to the building.=94 The condition of the student was not considered serious. Garrett said it is fortunate Engine 2, which is located across the street from the campus, was able to respond or =93they probably would have lost the entire third floor.=94 The city has been battling with RPI for a public safety fee which would, in part, increase the manning at Engine 2 from three firefighters per shift to five. As it stands now, if the firefighters there get an ambulance call, the fire engine is rendered useless because there is only one firefighter left at the station. =93The mayor is very concerned about this also and has supported the idea of adding two more per shift,=94 Garrett said. =93The city of New Haven gets millions a year from Yale University for public safety but up there it=92s a one-way street.=94 Garrett said approximately 10 companies responded to the call and mutual aid of neighboring communities went into effect. RPI clarifies timeline of lab fire Published: Thursday, July 2, 2009 By Dave Canfield The Record TROY =97 After an investigation, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute now says the time gap between a student contacting public safety to report a lab fire Monday night and the summoning of emergency services was only 32 seconds, some 11 =BD minutes shorter than initially reported. The fire resulted in 15 firefighters going to the hospital amid concerns about fumes and they remain out of work until test results are returned, said Fire Chief Tom Garrett, who continued Wednesday to question RPI=92s concern for the department and its desire to cooperate. At a press conference Tuesday, Vice President of Administration Claude Rounds said the call came in to campus public safety =97 where all on- campus alarms ring =97 at 6:05 p.m. The fire department has recorded RPI=92s call to the county dispatcher at 6:17 p.m. and a fire truck dispatched a minute later, which amounted to a 12-minute gap that fire officials blasted as =93ridiculous.=94 The school now says the incident was reported to public safety 28 seconds past 6:17 p.m., which then contacted 911 at exactly 6:18 p.m. The new information =93clearly demonstrates that the Rensselaer Public Safety Office acted appropriately and competently, and that there was no delay in Rensselaer=92s reporting of the alarm,=94 Rounds said Wednesday in a statement. Numbers the school gave at Tuesday=92s press conference put the gap at anywhere between five and 15 minutes, with administrators stressing their preliminary nature. The new numbers, Rounds said, came from a =93clear and verifiable audio and electronic record.=94 The third floor fire in the Jonsson-Rowland Science Center resulted in 15 firefighters being sent to Samaritan Hospital after the department was concerned about chemicals that could be in the laboratory building, which was filled with heavy smoke. The school said the fire started by the ignition of cleaning alcohol, which then spread to plastics. A female undergraduate student was treated and released for a burn to her finger. While the fire renewed the firefighters union=92s call for a so-called =93public safety fee=94 from the school to boost the number of firefighters serving the area, it also prompted the school to ask the state=92s Office of Fire Prevention and Control for an assessment of its emergency handling. Some schools utilize a system in which alarms ring directly with local authorities, not campus ones. Rounds suggested Tuesday that RPI would be open to such a possibility after the assessment, which he said he hoped would involve the fire department as well. But Garrett =97 who Rounds criticized for accusing the school of putting firefighters at risk =97 said he has yet to be approached about that by the school, or about anything else. =93I=92ve never been contacted after the fire by Shirley Jackson at all to inquire about the wellbeing of the firefighters that were injured, or improvements that could be made to her system,=94 Garrett said. He said no other school representatives have contacted him either, but insisted that =93ultimately, the safety of the RPI students and community fall on the shoulders of Shirley Jackson.=94 Troy spokesman Jeff Pirro said the city is =93actively addressing the situation with RPI to rectify the concerns they have.=94 Dave Canfield can be reached at 270-1290 or by e-mail at
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post