Don't get rid of your fire blanket.  Just don't wrap yourself in to put out the fire.  And, change the directions on those older, long, vertical, fire blanket cabinets that instructed you to do just that.

As mentioned ... the chimney effect.  In addition, it traps the heat and increases the chance of greater burns.

Fire blankets can be used for ...

1. A temporary stretcher

2. Keeping warm and covering up after using the safety shower

3. Someone else using it on you while you are doing stop, drop, and roll

4. Keeping warm to prevent shock

5. A pillow

 

6. A temporary modesty curtain for the safety shower with two colleagues holding the ends

7. The department picnic  ... Jim

PS.  LSI now has virtual lab inspections, safety program evaluations, document reviews, plus courses and seminars ... all virtual.  And, a complimentary,  updated version of our classic Laboratory Safety Guidelines is now available on our website ... https://www.labsafety.org/product/lab-safety-rules

 

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On Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 2:36 PM <pzavon**At_Symbol_Here**rochester.rr.com> wrote:

If your clothing is on fire and you are wrapped in a blanket while standing, you are likely to become a chimney drawing air in at the bottom and pushing the fire higher on the body.

 

In response to Ralph’s observations, I would note that the article is clear in several places that it is recommending actions be done by “trained people” so this is not about use by  the untrained.  Of course, it also ignores the problem of applying a9-step process in the midst of a crisis

 

And I would agree with Richard’s observation that most organizations have removed fire blankets entirely, generally in favor of “stop, drop, and roll” as easier to communicate to the otherwise untrained, and rather effective and also avoiding the chimney problem.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY

PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com

 

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> On Behalf Of Jessica Martin
Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 1:41 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] How to Use a Fire Blanket – 9 Simple Steps

 

Hm. When attempting to use a fire blanket to put out a fire on a person, I was instructed to have them “stop, drop, and roll” first, then to try to smother the fire with the blanket. I seem to recall that if you try to wrap a person in a fire blanket while they are standing (and on fire) that this actually causes other scarier problems. This is sort of a fuzzy memory now from a conversation had years ago with someone from a fire department, so I welcome folks to either fill in the blanks or correct it.

 

Best,

Jessica A. Martin, Ph.D.

NSF Graduate Research Fellow (2018-2021)

Joint Safety Team, Founding Member (2018-2021)

Pinkhassik Group, Department of Chemistry (2016-2021)

University of Connecticut

323-327-3974

jessica.a.martin**At_Symbol_Here**uconn.edu

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaannemartin/

 

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On Nov 9, 2022, at 12:54 PM, CHAS membership <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG> wrote:

 

*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*


In follow up to last week’s discussion about use of fire extinguishers in labs, this article caught my eye:
How to Use a Fire Blanket – 9 Simple Steps
at https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirefightergarage.com%2Fhow-to-use-a-fire-blanket%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7C%7C5a632c9d2d8c4e58931908dac27bcaa9%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C638036134181522702%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=5XUvmvq0Ox%2B7FCTrc2Xt9uCTi5vIBYN9SZLxR216COk%3D&amp;reserved=0

No matter how simple the steps, I’m not sure that a nine step process is reliable for people who are doing it for the first time...

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Membership Chair
American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org

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