Case Study : 22

Chemical Fire in an Office (30 Seconds)

What Was Observed?

A video became viral on social media in mid 2019 in which an office worker was carrying some chemical in a housekeeping
plastic bag. He placed this bag in his office for a while & suddenly chemical started to react in the bag.
A fire broke out due to the chemical reaction & the concerned worker was unable to control it. From the video, it was
visible that no one was trying to extinguish the fire which increased dramatically only within 30 seconds from the time it
started.
What Went Wrong?
Apparently there are following possible reasons of this fire:
1. There might be two chemicals inside the bag which were not compatible
with each other. Due to this mismatch, they interacted with each other
while movement, reacted & a fire was observed.
2. The second main reason seems to be the compatibility of chemical with
the bag or any other combustible content inside the bag like paper.
Chemical might have special storage & carrying requirements which were
not fulfilled which resulted in the fire.
3. Fire might be due to the collection of different type of waste
(hazardous + flammable etc.) in the same bag.

What to Do in Such Cases?  Store incompatible chemicals in separate

storage areas.
Before using a chemical, Always  Limit the amount of flammable material
check for: to the minimum needed.
1. The Concerned Information  Store flammable liquids in approved
a. Purpose of the chemical flammable’s storage containers/lockers.
b. Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
c. Hazards of the chemical
d. Labels on it
e. Handling & Transfer
instructions
f. Compatibility & Storage
instructions
g. Emergency spill & release
instructions
2. Right PPE to be used
3. Emergency Equipment &
training on it
a. Fire Fighting
b. First Aid
c. Eye Wash & Shower
d. Chemical spill kit
4. Housekeeping
5. Ventilation

Watch
Video