On August 21st, a small fire occurred in a fume hood while heating a mixture of N-Methyl-2-Pyrrolidone (NMP) and cellulose powder in an oil bath on a hot plate. Part of the oil bath was covered with aluminum foil and overheated, causing the oil to overflow out of the bath and contacting an ignition source (the hot plate.) The postdoc and the GRA running the experiment did an excellent job reacting promptly and extinguishing the fire within 15 seconds of it occurring.

The root cause of this issue appears to be lack of safety review before starting a process that was new to these researchers. It is critical that anytime changes to an experimental process are made and/or a research group is running and experiment that is new to them that the proper safety reviews are conducted. It is also highly encouraged to create an SOP for such processes so that all members of a research team can follow the same steps consistently and be aware of all the safety considerations.

When an incident or near miss such as this occurs, EHS should always be informed – even in situations like this where the imminent hazard (fire) has been mitigated. A phone call to the EHS on-call phone @ 404-216-5237 will ensure that the proper EHS team follows-up and supports the person or group immediately.