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Keyes Q&A: Securing gas cylinders, fire extinguishers, kitchens, door gaps

Healthcare Life Safety Compliance, June 1, 2019

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.

Editor?s note: Each month, Brad Keyes, CHSP, owner of Keyes Life Safety Compliance, answers your questions about life safety compliance. Our editorial advisory board also reviews the Q&A column. Follow Keyes? blog on life safety at www.keyeslifesafety.com for up-to-date information.

Group securing of compressed gas cylinders

Q: One of our surgery centers recently had a DOH life safety inspection, and they were told they need to individually chain each Medgas compressed gas cylinder. If I remember correctly, I thought the language read something general like they need to be secure. Can you help me on this?

A: The DOH surveyor is incorrect. According to NFPA 99-2012 Handbook, p. 84, it says NFPA 99 did have a requirement once in NFPA 99-2002 edition for individually securing each cylinder in storage or in rack for a manifold system. However, in the 2005 edition NFPA 99 changed that to the more relaxed ?secure all cylinders? language.

The ?secure all cylinders? language is still in the 2012 edition, which is the edition used now. So, according to NFPA 99-2012, section 5.1.3.3.2 (7), there is no requirement to individually secure each cylinder. Group securing is acceptable, provided it is effective. The DOH surveyor is living in the ?old ages.?

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Healthcare Life Safety Compliance.

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