Fire Safety

Fire Safety is extremely important in any occupational setting.  This concern is heightened in a laboratory setting.   This is because of the vast array of chemicals and hazards present in a laboratory.  Not only is there often a large amount of chemicals in a laboratory, but there is also a vast array of equipment being used that could pose a fire hazard.  Often times open flames, such as bunsen burners, are used in the lab to heat chemicals.  Hot plates and ovens are also used frequently utilized.  Many chemicals can cause a fire hazard when they come in contact with one another, or even just the air.  Because of this reason, SDS’s should be obtainable on all chemicals being used in the workplace.  Employees should be knowledgeable and familiar of the chemicals and equipment they are working with.

 Hazard recognition is extremely important in preventing fires.  For example, when boiling some chemicals, the fumes that come off the liquid may be flammable.  These fumes or gases may than come in contact with the flame of the heating element and ignite.  Human error is the biggest cause of fire in the laboratory.  In the lab, there is a heightened risk of chemical fire.  For this reason it is necessary to have the appropriate fire extinguisher.  Fires can be started by simply mixing two chemicals together.  The chemicals can either catch fire or create enough heat to start a fire out of the surrounding material.  Employees should not only be aware of how these fires can start, but they should also be trained in suppressing the fire.  Housekeeping is a simple but important part of fire safety in the lab.  Unused chemicals should be promptly cleaned up and stored in there appropriate places.  Equipment not being used, such as hot plates or bunsen burners should also be put away after they are allowed to cool.  In the scenario a fire does ignite and it can not be safely suppressed by lab workers, employees will need to evacuate and contact the fire department.

For this reason an emergency evacuation plan should be set in place.  Everyone working in the lab should be aware of the emergency evacuation.  A location should be designated as a safe zone somewhere outside the building for the employees to meet up at once the building is evacuated.  Massive amounts of hazardous chemicals should not be kept in the lab.  If a large amount of a flammable/ignitable chemical is kept in a lab it can greatly increase damage from a fire.  So it is important that laboratories do not stockpile large amounts of flammable chemicals and store them over a long period of time.  Educational labs, like the ones here at Ohio University are amongst those most at risk for a fire.  You have many untrained students working in a confined area and everyone is doing something different.  Many of these students do not have the heightened capability to for see hazards.  In student labs, you are often dealing with flammable gases, flammable liquids, and open flames.  For these reasons, educational labs are considered amongst the highest risk for fire hazards.