All,

To my knowledge, we don’t forbid untrained users, but we do caution people to carefully consider if they truly feel ready to handle it, and “when in doubt, get out.” Our labs are generally equipped with CO2 extinguishers, and with the forceful ejection of the gas, the situation can get worse. A few years back, a researcher had an ethanol fire start. They tried using an extinguisher on it, but they were untrained and got much too close. The force of the CO2 caused the ethanol to spray and aerosolize, which then became a fireball that reached the ceiling. Miraculously, no one was hurt, but the fireball triggered a sprinkler. The flood of water from the sprinkler leaked into the floor below, damaging equipment in a clean room, causing >$500K in damages.

Obviously, there were issues besides untrained extinguisher use, and it may be that the situation would have ended up the same or worse had they not tried to use it. I only have anecdotal data, so I can’t say how often untrained use worsens a situation vs. improving it, but wanted to raise the issue.

The good news for us is that the hands-on fire extinguisher training is the most highly reviewed safety training we have. The Fire Marshal’s Office sets up a burn pan for people to use the extinguishers on. People love it.

Sincerely,

Jack Reidy (he/him)

Research Safety Specialist, Assistant Chemical Hygiene Officer

Environmental Health & Safety

Stanford University

484 Oak Road, Stanford, CA, 94305

Tel: (650) 497-7614

I acknowledge that the land on which I live and work is the ancestral and unceded land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. As an uninvited guest on these lands, I am a beneficiary of the ongoing displacement of the Ohlone people. I pay my respects to the Native peoples, past and present.

It has come to my attention (anecdotally) that some academic institutions, as a matter of local policy, forbid students to use fire extinguishers.  I am thinking more of research, than teaching, labs in this regard.  I think this is a wrong-headed policy since some small fires can be easily extinguished using fire extinguishers (usually ABC) that are required to be in labs.   Extinguishers are designed for use (using the PASS method) by untrained persons - although I would always argue for hands-on training.  I would not favor the policy that requires extinguisher use (as this could lead someone attempting to inappropriately fight a “too large” fire) but forbidding use seems foolish.

I ask the list:  1) How common (do you think) is the policy of forbidding use? and 2) what are the arguments for this “no use” policy?

Dave

David C. Finster
Professor Emeritus, Department of Chemistry
Wittenberg University

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