Oxygen Safety

Hello Everyone,

 

This is a reminder about oxygen safety.  You may have seen the news article about the oxygen filling explosion and fire at Metrowest Ambulance in Hillsboro this weekend.  The employee was severely injured.  The exact cause of the mishap is not clear at this time.  Metro is the parent company to Medix.  While working for Metro on Cycle Oregon I have used that cascade filling system myself.  It is the nicest setup that I have used in my nearly 30 years of ambulance work.  Though rare, oxygen explosions can occur.  It is easy to underestimate the ever present risks.  Chief Hansen clearly understood this and purposely chose for us not to undertake the task of filling oxygen bottles here. 

 

Fire and explosions can still occur because of hydrocarbon and other contamination.  It is important that no petroleum based (hydrocarbon), or otherwise flammable lubricants and materials be used on, near, or around oxygen delivery equipment.  It is important to prevent unintended contamination.  That can easily occur with the use of dirty tools or even dirty hands on a morning or Saturday check.  Think about it, we have hydrocarbons all over our building and apparatus.  Please be sure to wash your hands and/or use clean gloves whenever changing oxygen bottles or switching regulators.

 

It is also important to use the correct washer system on the regulator.  There is a memo from several years ago that is still floating around.  I have attached a photo.  It you have any questions please talk to someone who can show you this. 

 

These incidents are extremely rare.  With good practices we can further reduce the risk.   I am sure that no one at Metro thought that it could ever happen there.  I sure didn’t.  Stay safe.