@article{ref1,
title="Accidental fires in clinical laboratories",
journal="",
year="1993",
author="Hoeltge, G. A. and Miller, A. and Klein, B. R. and Hamlin, W. B.",
volume="117",
number="12",
pages="1200-1204",
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.",
language="",
issn="",
doi="",
url="http://dx.doi.org/"
}