Fire Safety in Labs

Today's article will be all about fire safety in lab.  Obviously, laboratories are very dangerous places of work with a lot of hazards, but when you think about fires in a lab, there are so many more dangers involved due to the plethora of chemicals and substances in the lab that can have potential of causing more reactions and explosions when they come into contact with extremely high temperatures.  So, what kind of fire safety is there in a lab?  Well, according to the site http://www.labmanager.com/lab-health-and-safety/2009/08/laboratory-fire-safety#.VxlaPzjmqP8 , a lot of things can be done in the first place to prevent a fire from even happening.  Some of these things include planning out every step of the procedure correctly, store chemicals properly, wear proper PPE, minimize the materials used in the experiment, and not working alone.  Of course, the major components to fire safety are all known, that is the PPE, fire extinguishers, and alarms, but there are a few more areas of concern to touch base on.  One of these areas is the egress of the lab, that is the way out of the lab.  It should be a clear pathway, unblocked, and lead outside to ground level.  Another thing to think about when talking about fire safety in labs is the storage of chemicals.  This is very important if there is a fire because if the chemicals are properly stored in the appropriate containers, then there may not be the extra hazards of the fire reaching those chemicals.  Another thing to think about is that when there is a fire, you want the above sprinkler system to activate to help put out the fire.  However, the sprinklers will do no good if they are being blocked by stacked boxes or equipment, so make sure that your sprinkler heads are clear of any blockages that may be in the way.  When discussing fire extinguishers, you want to make sure you have the correct one or multiple extinguishers for different fires.  You want to make sure you know the PASS technique, which stands for pull, aim, squeeze and sweep.  That's how you use a fire extinguisher.  Not every fire extinguisher works for every fire.  There are different types of extinguishers.  According to the site http://www.fire-extinguisher101.com/ , classes A, B, C, and D would all be useful in the laboratory.  Class A fire extinguishers are used for fires that are from your ordinary combustibles.  These include papers, cardboard and wood.  Class B extinguishers are used for combustible liquids, like gasoline or grease/oil.  Class C extinguishers are used for any sort of electrical fire.  Class D extinguishers are for fires most common in a laboratory most likely.  These are fires that from combustible metals, like potassium or magnesium.  It is important to know what type of fire extinguishers you have for different fires because they will not work on other types than what they are specified for.  Also, some more tips on fire safety can be found on the site http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/fire/lab.shtml .  Some of the tips include not covering up light bulbs or light fixtures with papers or cloth, not overloading an outlet, and also to be weary of the location of fire safety equipment in your location.  I hope this article was helpful in providing some information about fire safety.