Potentially serious fire was avoided by luck. In an unoccupied lab material inside an incubator combusted after the thermostat was set incorrectly and the incubator door was left ajar to cool the contents. The resulting localised fire melted the aluminium alloy shelf and caused smoke damage to the lab interior.

A relatively small fire resulted when plant tissue was being homogenised with acetone (highly flammable) in a domestic blender.Flaming solvent was spread around the area.

11th August 1981, building 4 South.Offices and microbiology labs on the ground floor were out of action for 9 months. Much valuable material in incubators and freezers was lost because power supplies were lost for some days. There was little fire damage (just in one office) but the water and smoke damage was considerable.Architecture studios on the first floor were totally destroyed.

11th July 2004, building 1 South.Pyrophoric chemical was accidentally released and caught fire in the fume cupboard. This spread to stored solvents.The insurance claim was £425,000 but the lab was out of action for only about 3 months, which was arapid turnaround.

Phenol burns

First aid for phenol burns.Eye contact: Gently irrigate eye with tap water.

Do not use PEG solution (see below).Obtain medical attention.

Skin contact:1. Drench affected area with cold tap water for at least 10 minutes.2. If the affected area is larger than about 3 cm, flood it with decontaminant solution (50% aqueous polyethylene glycol MW300 – PEG 300) and leave for a few minutes.3. Rinse affected area with cold tap water.4. If pain persists continue PEG treatment.5. Obtain medical attention.

Report the incident.