Fire Alarms

Response Procedure for General Fires (NOT in fume hood):

• evacuate the lab in an orderly fashion (see evacuation routes)
• activate a REGULAR fire alarm once away from immediate danger
  • REGULAR fire alarms require you to break a small glass plate to access the handle.
  • The special CO₂ Fire Suppression alarms are smaller, labeled, and don't have glass covers.

Response Procedure for Fires in Fume Hoods in Rooms 50S and 50R (Wet Lab)

Fires in fume hoods present special concerns:

• the exhaust fans draw air into the hoods, much like a chimney in a fireplace, causing a fire to grow rapidly
• fume hoods are typically made of polypropylene (PP), which emits toxic fumes when burned

To minimize these risks, a CO₂ fire suppression system has been installed in the fumes hoods located in the wet chemistry lab.

There are two activation handles for these systems:

• outside the Wet Lab on the door by the safety shower
• the north wall inside the Wet Lab, by the emergency hatch

This system will flood the Wet Lab with CO₂, extinguishing the fire.

The last person leaving the Wet lab should activate the system.

• If you are using the alarm by the emergency hatch, make sure you do it once you have at least one foot out of the hatch.
• If this alarm is activated while someone is still inside the Wet Lab the CO₂ can asphyxiate him/her.