The Oshkosh West Index - Training pays dividends in laboratory mishap

Volume 106, Issue 4

Online Features

Training pays dividends in laboratory mishap

By Logan Fassbinder
posted January 23, 2010

All it took was a flash of light, and before freshman Angel Herrera knew it, what had originally begun as an innocent lab abruptly evolved into a pool of flames. The fire, which occurred in physical science teacher Heather Schilling's third hour class, began during a lab that involved the burning of magnesium. The flames originated shortly after ten o'clock on January 8, when Herrera unintentionally dropped a piece of flaming magnesium into a hole in one of the lab counters.

"Well, it just started out as a normal day," said Herrera. "Everything was going well until we started the magnesium on fire. When I first tried to put it out, I moved it around, and a piece fell in the hole. I didn't recognize that there was a lot of paper in the hole and when I looked down into it, I saw that the magnesium had started the paper on fire."

The hole, which serves as a holster to clasp ring stands in various labs, had been filled with an assortment of pieces of scrap paper over the years. It didn't take long for the dry paper to catch fire when it came into direct contact with the burning magnesium.

"[Angel] ran up to me and told me what happened; I ran back and as we looked down the hole and we could see that the paper was burning," said Schilling. "So I grabbed some water, and I thought that I could put it out rather quickly. [The fire] didn't look like it was very big, but the water didn't work."

However, as events progressed and the fire grew larger beneath the lab station, Schilling realized she would need more assistance in stopping the ensuing danger.

"I had some kids get some buckets of water and in the meantime I called down to the office," said Schilling. "They got a janitor in here and the janitor grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it down the hole"

No one was harmed in the incident, and burn damage was minimal.

"I just came in and grabbed the fire extinguisher and stuck it in the hole, and then I unscrewed the side panel and cleaned it out. It wasn't too bad," said custodian Steve Abler. "It melted some wires in there, but the damage was nothing serious. I opened up some windows and got some air in there, and of course we got the kids out."

Even though the fire had been suppressed, there still remained a myriad of concerns. Smoke had made its way into the ventilation system and was quickly spreading throughout the school. Reports of the smoke were seen as far off as the auditorium.

"When we took the garbage out, we could tell that it was a huge stack of papers and when paper burns it gives out an incredible amount of smoke," said Schilling. "That was one of the main concerns, because it was quite smoky in here."

Due to the large amount of smoke given off, the fire alarm was pulled, even though the refurbishing process was already underway.

"When the fire alarm went off, truly I was kind of embarrassed because at that point we had already had had the fire out.We had already cleared the room, and we had started the clean up process," said Schilling.

The incident was resolved quickly, due in part to the quick judgment by those involved in putting out the flames. Luckily, the fire didn't turn out worse than it had originally appeared. One of the first actions Herrera took was to turn off the source of methane gas that was being used in the experiment, which helped to avoid a much different outcome.

"My immediate worry was that we couldn't get to it because it's down in the cubby hole and I know that there are electrical lines underneath, so my immediate worries were that it would have started an electrical fire," said Schilling. "So that was my main concern, was trying to get at it as quickly possible."

Fire trucks also arrived at the school. The firemen came into the classroom to be sure that the fire had been put out appropriately and to ascertain that suitable actions were taken in the clean up process.

"We do it really just in case. What we do is just make sure we followed all of the procedures, especially when you're working with chemicals," said Principal Peter Cernohous, who arrived at the scene of the fire shortly after Schilling called down to the office. "A lot of times there are certain restrictions and certain qualifications that we have to work through to make sure that we've handled ourselves properly when putting out a chemical fire. So we bring them in just to be sure that they give us the blessing to continue with business as usual."

While the burn damage caused to the room may have been less than severe, the excessive smoke left a lasting influence on the area. The foul odor was present in the room for several hours after the fire had been put out.

"The smoke filled the room. It was a pretty dense smoke. The rest of the day the room smelled pretty bad. I would say my clothes smelled of the smoke as well," said Schilling. "[The firemen] didn't want to bring the students back in until the room was completely cleared out."

While administrators, custodians, and firemen tried to make sense of the events that led up to the fire, students evacuated the building and herded into the below freezing temperatures that awaited them outside.

"I thought everyone responded very well. That's why I got on the PA afterwards and wanted to compliment everyone, both students and staff. Everyone responded in an appropriate way and people may have seen smoke in the halls, but nobody panicked. I appreciate the kids standing outside for a few minutes without coats on in the cold weather," said Cernohous. "They got far enough away from the building and my evaluation of it was that it went very well, under the circumstance. In the long run it was probably good practice to show students why we do drills. So it just shows that anything can happen at anytime."

Several students simply assumed it was one of the many routine fire drills that they must partake in at least once a month as mandated by the state. While students may have been fully prepared for the procedure, they weren't necessarily ready to face the frigid cold outside.

"I wasn't really concerned about the fire; I just thought someone had pulled the fire alarm, so I didn't know if it was an actual fire," said senor Katie Luethe. "It was just really cold and I was more worried about getting back in. It was kind of nice to get out of class though."

Schilling was very appreciative of all of those who helped to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading throughout the school. The promptness and effectiveness of all those who helped restrain the fire from spreading did not go unnoticed.

"I'm just very thankful for the students' cooperation and I'm very thankful for the janitor, Steve Abler. He's the one who came in and helped," said Schilling. "I'm thankful to Mr. Cernohous and Mr. [Jay] Jones, who both rushed down and helped out. I'm very thankful that I had some kids helping me and that the kids were able to remain calm in the situation."

Herrera is no stranger to calamities with hot materials. He had previously burned his hand in an unrelated incident while working with cooking oil in his kitchen. In that accident he suffered second and third degree burns. Herrera, who was extremely sorry about the whole ordeal, suffered no consequences for the mishap. He feels he's learned a very valuable lesson.

"I told the teacher right away, and she told the principal and Mr. Jones. They told me that nothing bad was going to happen. It had just been an accident. They just had to call my parents and inform them about it," said Herrera. "All I can say is be careful with flammable stuff, it's dangerous."

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photo by Koran Ryf

Firetrucks arrive on Eagle Street on January 8 prepared to combat a fire which began during a lab experiment in S-19. By the time the trucks had reached the school, the fire had already been extiguished and clean up had commenced.

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