Two hurt in chemical fire at California hospital lab
Hospital Safety Insider, May 22, 2014
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Two people suffered minor injuries and 14 people were evacuated from a Whittier, California hospital May 16 after a chemical spill in a laboratory caused a flash fire at the facility, according to a report in the Whittier Daily News.
The fire, which occurred just before 8 a.m. at the Los Angeles suburban PIH Health Hospital-Whittier, was initially reported as a possible explosion. It was later found that a worker was pouring the chemical Xylene into a funnel when it spilled onto the floor and caused a flash fire, the paper reported.
The incident – which was confined to one room in the basement of the hospital - caused the temporary evacuation of 14 residents, who were not injured, and closed the lab for part of the day. Both injured workers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries monitored for possible chemical exposure, the report said.
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