The Kitchen Fire and the Oxygen Cylinder
You are a career firefighter on a two-pump response to a single-storey home. On arrival, smoke is issuing from a kitchen window and a neighbour says an elderly man lives alone inside. As you approach the front door, the occupant appears at the doorway, coughing, and says "it's just the chip pan, I put a lid on it." Behind him, visible through the doorway, is a concentrator with tubing running to a nasal cannula still on his face, and a spare oxygen cylinder leaning against the hallway wall. The kitchen doorway is 3 m from the front door. Your officer is 20 m back at the pump.
1. What are the immediate hazards and what do you do first?
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Hazards:
- Oxygen enrichment. The concentrator, cannula, and spare cylinder mean the atmosphere and the man's clothing may be oxygen-enriched. Fabrics in enriched oxygen ignite readily and burn fiercely; a spark or ember can cause a flash fire.
- The occupant is the ignition risk and the casualty. He is coughing, possibly hypoxic, and may be confused.
- Chip pan fire - if the lid is on but the pan is still hot, re-ignition or steam explosion is possible; water must never be applied.
- Smoke in a small house with a single exit.
First actions:
- Stop and control the doorway - do not enter past the oxygen equipment without BA and a charged line.
- Remove the man from the doorway to fresh air, away from the oxygen source, and turn off the concentrator if it is safe to reach.
- Call for BA and a charged hose from your officer; confirm the cylinder is shut off.
- Do not use water on the pan; if the lid is on and the pan is cooling, leave it covered and let it cool, with a dry powder or fire blanket available.
2. How would you manage the oxygen cylinder and the concentrator?
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- Treat the cylinder as a pressure vessel and an accelerant. If it is involved in fire it can vent violently or rupture; if it is not involved, shut the valve and move it outside, upright and secured, away from heat, only if this can be done without passing through smoke or fire.
- The concentrator should be switched off and unplugged once the occupant is clear, because it continues to produce oxygen and feeds any fire.
- Ventilate the house after the fire is out - oxygen-enriched atmospheres persist and clothing/bedding can reignite.
- Warn all crews on the radio that oxygen equipment is present; this changes the risk assessment for anyone entering.
- Do not smoke or use sparking tools near the equipment.
3. The man refuses to go to hospital. What is your approach?
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- Assess and hand over: he is coughing after smoke exposure and may have carbon monoxide poisoning; that is a medical decision, not his alone to make safely.
- Explain the risk plainly: CO poisoning can worsen over hours, and he lives alone with no one to check on him.
- Hand to ambulance/paramedics for assessment; if he refuses, document the refusal, ensure he has a working smoke alarm, and arrange a welfare follow-up through the officer (e.g. police or community services).
- Do not leave him with the concentrator running in a smoke-damaged house - check the equipment and the kitchen before you leave.
- Report the chip pan and oxygen combination so the officer can consider a home fire safety referral.