CES Hire Toolbox Talk Tuesday: Under Pressure
CES Hire Toolbox Talk Tuesday: Under Pressure
Safe use of compressed gases
I must confess I haven’t always followed the rules when it comes to compressed gases and by no means am I advocating this sort of behaviour! My first experience of compressed gases came in the shape of helium. What child is not fascinated by bright balloons seemingly floating in the air? Well that’s the magic of helium. Of course the wonder continues with the realisation that helium will also give you the power to alter you voice and have hours of fun giggling in a mouse-like squeaking voice. My second experience was the discovery of the gas taps at secondary school. A compressed gas with the power to lighten up a Bunsen burner with a multitude of dazzling coloured flames providing a lot of fun and perhaps not always the safest science experiments! With the daring and somewhat careless attitude of childhood behind me I’m now far more aware of the need to work safely with compressed gases.
On the 14th June last year 'fire' was at the forefront of all our minds as we watched the horrifying scenes unfold at Grenfell Tower. Fluorescent against the jet black London night, the flames enveloped the 23 storey tower block. Thick plumes of smoke billowed into the night's sky as multiple fire engines tacked the ferocious blaze which took the lives of 72 people. We think of these incidents as things that we only ever see on the news, in films and on those big budget soap character exit storylines but the truth is fire killed 321 people in the UK last year and hospitalised 3263 people. So often fire can be prevented in simple ways which we addressed in this week's Toolbox Talks Tuesday. 
