title: Accidental fires in clinical laboratories.
abstract: The National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Mass, estimates that 169 fires have occurred annually in health care, medical, and chemical laboratories. On the average, there are 13 civilian injuries and $1.5 million per year in direct property damage. Most fires in which the cause or ignition source can be identified originate in malfunctioning electrical equipment (41.6%) or in the facility's electrical distribution system (14.7%). The prevalence of fire safety deficiencies was measured in the College of American Pathologists Laboratory Accreditation Program. Of the 1732 inspected laboratories, 5.5% lacked records of electrical receptacle polarity and ground checks in the preceding year. Of these inspected laboratories, 4.7% had no or incomplete documentation of electrical safety checks on laboratory instruments. There was no evidence of quarterly fire exit drills in 9% of the laboratories. Deficiencies were also found in precautionary labeling (6.8%), in periodic review of safe work practices (4.2%), in the use of safety cans (3.7%), and in venting of flammable liquid storage areas (2.8%). Fire preparedness would be improved if all clinical laboratories had smoke detectors and automatic fire-extinguishing systems. In-service training courses in fire safety should be targeted to the needs of specific service areas.
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH 44195-5133.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Hoeltge
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: W B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Hamlin
mesh_terms: D005390:Fires / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007753:Laboratories / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010338:Pathology, Clinical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012449:Safety; D014481:United States