[Nhcoll-l] Fire marshal discussion

[Alexandra Snyder]

One consideration re: reporting amounts of ethanol/formalin/isopropanol museum fluid collections to the state fire marshal's office (which I do on a regular basis) is to estimate your amounts based on displaced fluid per container.  I.e., instead of 1 (100% full) liter of 70% EtOH, you should figure the amount to be ca. 50% full of fluid (the other 50% is flesh).


In 2008, I attended the 22nd Annual National Archives Preservation Conference, "The ABCs of Modern Fire Suppression in Cultural Institutions."  This was an extremely informative conference, in many ways, but gave me an insight into the world of fire codes and agencies that must enforce these codes.  Yes, these codes and the enforcement vary state to state, country to country, but it helps to have some knowledge of the system, when seeking a variance or in discussions with inspectors.  Our division (fishes in ethanol) is a continual focus for the NM state fire marshal's office.  As collections manager, I must be ready to address questions (along with the university safety office) re: the shelving structure, the jars and caps, carboys for dispensing chemicals, and so on.


To answer original question: We use a wet pipe sprinkler system, 3 hour air change to mitigate any vapor buildup (plus using good seals and caps), smoke detector system, underfloor holding tank for catastrophic spills, explosion proof plugs and light switches (no office or examination tables allowed in archives), food service shelving (AMCO) to allow penetration of sprinkler output, 4-hour walls.


Best, Lex


*************************************
Alexandra M Snyder, Collections Manager-Fishes
Museum of Southwestern Biology MSC03-2020
University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131
PH./FAX 505.277.6005     amsnyder at unm.edu

PHYSICAL ADDRESS FOR FEDEX/UPS
Bldg.83  Room 204
302 Yale Blvd NE



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