In either sort of emergency situation you should get help at once. This may be done by:
calling for help from people nearby, and/or
calling the University Public Safety Office at 911 from a CAMPUS phone or 684-2444 from a CELL phone.
Except for trivial accidents, call the University Public Safety Office by dialing 911 from a CAMPUS phone or 684-2444 from a CELL phone. . State clearly:
The car from the Public Safety Office should arrive within 5 minutes.
FIRST AID. Give First Aid only if there is an immediate life threatening accident or if the accident is trivial; otherwise await the arrival of qualified safety personnel or paramedics. If you believe that you must provide first aid, here are some suggestions.
Thermal Burns - In the case of a burn, apply cold water and/or ice immediately to the burned area until the pain subsides. Wrap the burned area to protect from infection. It is best to avoid oils and ointments in first aid treatment since these frequently complicate the physician's job. If the burns are extensive, treat for shock (see following) and call Public Safety (911) for transportation.Chemical Burns - Flush the affected area at least 15 minutes with tap water. Acid or minor bromine burns may then be treated with 5% sodium carbonate solution. Alkali burns can be washed with 5% acetic acid solution or saturated boric acid solution. Wrap the burned area loosely . Call 911 for severe burns.
Burns from the following chemicals: hydrofluoric acid, white phosphorus and phenol require special treatment. If these chemicals are to be handled, be sure that you know the first aid treatment before they are used. See their MSDS sheets.
Minor Bleeding: Allow the blood to flow a few moments. Flush the wound thoroughly with water. Apply an antiseptic and bandage the wound to prevent contamination.
Toxic Fumes: If there are complaints of a headache or dizziness in a laboratory in which the odors of such toxic gases as chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen oxides, etc., are even detectable, see that the victim is taken to fresh air immediately and made to rest. Do not permit the victim to move unless the symptoms disappear rapidly. Also clear all others from the laboratory until the problem can be clearly identified and remedied. Call 911 from a CAMPUS phone or 684-2444 from a CELL phone.
Fainting and Shock: Any or all of the following are symptoms of shock: chill, trembling, shortness of breath, pallor, nausea, excessive perspiration. In such cases, the patient should be placed in a prone position with head lower than feet. Loosen tight clothing and keep patient warm. Call 911 from a CAMPUS phone or 684-2444 from a CELL phone and request transportation.
Chemical Splashes: Safety Showers and Eye Washes are located in each of the laboratories. Since it has been conclusively proven that immediate washing of the skin with a generous amount of water is the most effective first aid treatment for chemical burns. Pulling the ring hanging from a safety shower will cause the rapid discharge of water. Be sure to leave the ring hanging freely at the end of the chain at all times. For a major chemical splash or clothing on fire, have no hesitation to use the shower in your laboratory. For less serious splashes requiring change of clothes, use the showers located in the restrooms. All of the research and teaching laboratories are also equipped with eye wash fountains in case a chemical splashes in the eyes.
Proper documentation and follow-up are the keys to preventing recurrence of any accident. The form to be filled out in the event of any personal injury, fire or chemical spill is available here. If an injury occurs to an employee or teaching assistant who requires medical attention, then an Occupational Injury or Illness form (Form A-016) must be completed. Dr. Woerner and Mrs. Janet Rosenthal (room 3226 FFSC) all have copies of AO-16 forms should you need one.
Call, or have someone call, Duke Public Safety at 911 from a CAMPUS phone or 684-2444 from a CELL phone and give the following information concerning the emergency:
In an emergency situation the hierarchy of responsibility for determining WHO IS IN CHARGE until the professional safety personnel arrive is as follows:1) emergency personnel from outside the French Family Science Center have been called,
2) initial steps have been taken to deal with the situation, such as administering first aid (if qualified), containing or extinguishing a fire or closing all fire doors if you are unable to fight the fire, cleaning up a chemical spill, etc.,
3) information on the hazards of the situation or injured person will be given to professional safety personnel when they arrive,
4) the appropriate research director(s) and officers of the department have been informed of the emergency situation.
In a case of more serious accidents where there is injury and the possibility
of a fire or explosion, the City Public Safety Officers (firemen and police)
may be called to the French Family Science Center. When they are here, they have
the responsibility of assuming as much authority for what is done as they
consider appropriate. This means that they can call for evacuation of the
building, and if they do, their orders are to be complied with at once
without question. Failure to do so or to offer resistance to the orders
of a Public Safety Officer can result in arrest. It is important to
understand that Public Safety Officers are not chemists and may not be
able to size up or appreciate the difference between small and large hazards
as they would appear to us. They do, however, have the legally constituted
responsibility and authority to deal with potentially hazardous situations
and often must start by assuming a "worst case scenario" although the real
hazard may quickly turn out to be small. Since all research personnel have
been trained to respond to building evacuation orders there should be little
problem in closing down an experiment for 10 to 15 minutes until the responsible
Public Safety Officer has been satisfied that the building may be reoccupied
safely.
In the event of a serious emergency such as fire, explosion or release of hazardous gas, the building must be evacuated. This requirement is not only to remove those present in the building from potential hazard, but to clear the way for firemen or Safety Officers who are responsible for handling the emergency. The FOUR emergency access routes that may be used by emergency responders coming to the French Family Science Center are marked in yellow on the diagram below.
If an evacuation alarm is sounded, before leaving a lab, you should shut down all experiments as quickly and safely as possible using common sense as your guide. This should include removing heat, releasing pressure or vacuum, and turning off electrical appliances. When you exit from a lab; leave the lights turned on, close the doors to the room, but leave the doors unlocked. Follow the designated evacuation route from your lab using the stairs, not the elevator. Move to a designated safe area (marked in green on the diagram below) and meet with the other members of your research group at some pre-designated place to verify that everyone has left the building.
Electrical exit signs have been installed throughout the building. Follow the overhead exit signs or take the nearest stairway down and exit from the building.
If you are on an upper floor in the south end (the Gross Chemistry end) of the French Family Science Center, take stairs down to level-1, exit and go to your right on to the grassy area near the greenhouses located behind the French Family Science Center. Designated as "Safe area #2" marked in green on the diagram below. Remain in the grassy area until instructed by authorities to move further from the building or to return to the building.
If you are located on an upper floor near the middle of the building, take stairs down to the main lobby (level-2) and exit by the front doors out to the grassy terraced area in front of the French Family Science Center. Designated as "Safe area #1" marked in green on the diagram below. Remain in the terraced area until instructed by authorities to return to the building.
If you are on an upper floor in the north end (the Physics end) of the French Family Science Center, take stairs down to level-2, exit and go to your left to the raised concrete parking area behind the Physics building. Designated as "Safe area #3" marked in green on the diagram below. Remain in the parking area until instructed by authorities to move further from the building or to return to the building.
Teaching assistants with laboratory classes on level-1 should tell their students to check their experiments carefully before leaving to see that everything is turned off and safe until they can return to the laboratory and then evacuate and the building immediately. The class should be told to follow the evacuation route indicated by electrical exit signs and to gather together as a group in the grassy area near the greenhouses located behind French Family Science Center, designated as "Safe area #2" marked in green on the diagram below, OR near the statue of the camel, designated as "Safe area #4. Remain in these grassy areas until instructed by authorities to move further from the building or to return to the building.
If you are otherwise on level-1, follow the overhead electrical exit signs that will take you to the nearest exit that takes you onto the grassy area near the greenhouses located behind the French Family Science Center. Designated as "Safe area #2" marked in green on the diagram below. Remain in the grassy area until instructed by authorities to move further from the building or to return to the building.
Diagram showing the four primary emergency access routes for emergency responders marked in yellow and the four evacuation safe areas for building occupants marked in green.
During fire drills a verbal all-clear signal will be given by an authority when you may return to the building. DO NOT RETURN TO THE BUILDING UNTIL THE ALL-CLEAR SIGNAL IS GIVEN.
Evacuation drills will be held twice per year as required by the City of Durham Fire Marshall. Total evacuation of the building is required during evacuation drills. In addition to the drills, the fire alarm system is tested once per year.
It should be recognized that any building evacuation, either in a drill
or in a genuine emergency situation, may interfere with experiments that
are underway. You should keep this possibility in mind and consider as
part of your preparation for any experiment the question of how you can
safely close it down in an emergency with minimum damage to your work.
If the power fails, a backup generator will come on within about 30 seconds
Notify Maintenance immediately of a power outage or loss of water pressure by calling 684-2122, 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. At other times, try the same number first, but call Public Safety at 684-2444 if you get a recorded message indicating that no maintenance workers are on duty.
