O2 canister liability

[DCMed124]

my company has oxygen canisters on each floor of the building. The following question has arisen around this...

should they canisters be removed during fire drill and / or actual fire. I made a somewhat off-handed remark that in an actual fire, those canisters could become ballistic missiles... this has prompted no small amount of debate amongst the C level folks about liability in delaying exit from the building, etc...

does anyone have any experience in this? I was thrilled the day I started to work here that they had the O2 (no AEDs, but I'm working on it). The company is in Chester County, PA. I'm not sure if there's any legal background on this or not.

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

DC

[Acosell]

Can you provide a little bit more info on the company?

Is it safe to assume these oxygen tanks are for medical use? First response?

How many floors are there? How many response teams are there? Are the tanks at first aid stations?

Would it be reasonable for the first response teams to keep the tanks with them while responding?

The above was based purely on speculation. It would help if you could provide more info on the situation/layout etc.

[DCMed124]

it's a fairly typical multi-floor office building. I'm the only one that can even spell EMT.

The canisters are in the coffee rooms alongside the first-aid kits.

Since posting, I've spoken with the local fire mashall. His comments were <paraphrase> "nice if you could get them out to actually use them on anyone exposed during the fire, or to at least placard the general area alerting first responders to their presence, but getting the people out remains #1."

so I'm sticking with that unless someone else can give me any better ideas. I hate the idea of Emergency Services running into 1200 psi missles, but there you have it.

/DC

[Ace844]

These sites should help you...

http://www.src.nctu.edu.tw/safety/MSDS/O2(g).doc

[web] www.airproducts.com/nr/rdonlyres/7aa8a6bb-e1ba-4392-a6d0-5a209cb3adf5/0/safety01.pdf [/web]

http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/cmgg89.htm

http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-....1.8.28.3.45.27

Hope this helps,

ACE844

[Acosell]

If you're the only person trained in 02 administration, can you remove the tanks from all of the first aid stations and keep them somewhere safe, then respond to any emergencies with a airway bag that contains a canister?