Well, where I was mostly talking about was the wings and wards where the oxygen equipment is most used. Smoking and open flame are and have always been strictly prohibited in those areas. The only extra oxygen waiting rooms and public areas get is from portable tanks and whatever isn't diluted by the ventilation system (most hospitals have seperate vents for public areas versus the wards), so yeah, you used to be able to smoke there. Try lighting your Bic in an intensive care ward and you will probably start a flash fire. (EDIT: the more common rhyming term for lighting a lighter seems to be censored for some reason)frankie_the_yankee wrote:Do you have any actual data on this?Liko81 wrote: And because of that system, a hospital building has a high-oxygen atmosphere just because masks and hoses aren't completely airtight. Simply firing a gun can create a huge blast as the flash from the powder will carry much further when there's more oxygen to sustain the flame. Oxygen isn't, by itself, a flammable gas. What it does do is make things that are normally flame-retardant or inflammable burn much more readily, and increase the temperature of flames.
The reason I am skeptical that this (oxygen leakage leading to a high O2 content in the hospital atmosphere) would not be a problem is that I am old enough to remember when you could smoke cigarettes in some areas of hospitals. And to light them requires some kind of open flame from a lighter or match. I've never known this to result in any kind of unusual fire breaking out. Nor do I, as a former smoker, ever recall cigarettes burning faster than normal, etc.
Basically, I think we are overthinking this. The administrators aren't claiming any safety hazard related to guns and oxygen. They are just emphasizing and defending their no guns policy.
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Return to “RI rolls out the welcome mat for scum”
- Thu May 08, 2008 11:40 am
- Forum: General Gun, Shooting & Equipment Discussion
- Topic: RI rolls out the welcome mat for scum
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6495
Re: RI rolls out the welcome mat for scum
- Thu May 08, 2008 10:44 am
- Forum: General Gun, Shooting & Equipment Discussion
- Topic: RI rolls out the welcome mat for scum
- Replies: 44
- Views: 6495
Re: RI rolls out the welcome mat for scum
And because of that system, a hospital building has a high-oxygen atmosphere just because masks and hoses aren't completely airtight. Simply firing a gun can create a huge blast as the flash from the powder will carry much further when there's more oxygen to sustain the flame. Oxygen isn't, by itself, a flammable gas. What it does do is make things that are normally flame-retardant or inflammable burn much more readily, and increase the temperature of flames.TexaNurse wrote:Well, I think the issue they are trying to bring to light was that he was NOT supposed to be carrying a firearm while working. The other issue is that he fired and possibly missed. I don't know how this particular hospital is set up, but most hospitals have oxygen running through pipeline throughout the building to provide oxygen to patients in their respective rooms. My concern here is that IF that bullet were to penetrate the wall and hit that pipe, well, I don't think I would want to be in that vicinity.