About This Archive  |	DCHAS-L 2019 Index   |	DCHAS-L Yearly Index
Search All Posts:   Advanced Search     Disclaimer

Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.

Previous by Date: Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Hygiene Plan Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 10:13:42 AM Author: Pam <aubu**At_Symbol_Here**HOTMAIL.COM>

Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Hygiene Plan Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2019 14:47:06 +0000 Author: Jennifer L Herriges

I am regularly asked if we need fire blankets in the lab and my answer is always "YES!" followed by explanations why, some of which don't have anything to do with a fire:

- I have seen situations where hitting a fire with an extinguisher made the problem worse. Example: a container of burning solvent was hit and the force of the extinguisher blew burning solvent all over the place. The same thing happened one time when a fire started in a trash can full of paper towels. When we debriefed after these incidents, we decided that under these particular circumstances, covering the area with a fire blanket and following up with an extinguisher would have been a better approach.

- A couple of times we had to use a lab safety shower in response to a chemical exposure (no fire) and the occupants in the lab were mixed genders and included cultures in which disrobing in public in front of the other gender was very difficult. In both cases, lab workers followed the training we had suggested and used the fire blankets as a kind of curtain to give the person under the shower a little privacy while all the males in the lab were told to leave and go get some females to assist. Because we had discussed this scenario prior to the incidents, the whole process happened very quickly and worked out well.

- If someone goes down hard in a lab and can't safely be moved, a fire blanket can be used to keep them warm and stave off some of the effects of shock until emergency medical personnel arrive.

Bret Mayo
NORTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety On Behalf Of Stuart, Ralph
Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 8:43 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Fire blankets training?

I am preparing a lab emergency response training for our summer undergraduate research students. Two questions have arisen in this process:

1. I wonder what the current best practice is with regard to fire blankets in labs? I believe that using a safety shower or the "Stop, Drop and Roll" response to a person on fire is preferred to using a fire blanket on a person. However, would a handy fire blanket be a better suppression system than a fire extinguisher for incipient fires, if occupants are not likely to have fire extinguisher training? It seems like grabbing a fire blanket and throwing it on the fire is a simpler process than using a fire extinguisher.

2. According to the archives at ilpi.com, the last time we discussed first aid kits on the list was about 2015. Am I correct that the primary goal of a lab first aid kit (given no chemicals which require exotic first aid) is to control bleeding?

Thanks for any thoughts on these questions.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post|   Next post