COOKING SAFETY • Never leave cooking unattended. • Always wear short or tight-fitting sleeves when you cook. • Keep towels, pot holders and curtains away from flames • Never use the range or oven to heat your home.

 ESCAPING THE FIRE • Have an escape plan. Review escape routes with your family. • Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut. • Teach family members to stay low to the floor, where the air is safer, when escaping from a fire. • In high-rise, never lock fire exits or doorways, halls or stairways. Never prop stairway or other fire doors open.

 HEATING SOURCE 

• Place space heaters at least three feet away from flammable/combustible materials. • Use only the type of fuel designated for your space heater.

 MATCHES/LIGHTERS AND SMOKING

 • Keep matches/lighters away from children. • Never smoke in bed or when drowsy or medicated. • If you must smoke, do it responsibly.

ELECTRICAL WIRING • Inspect extension cords for frayed or exposed wires or loose plugs • Make sure outlets have cover plates and no exposed wiring. • Make sure wiring does not run under rugs, over nails, or across high traffic areas. • Do not overload extension cords or outlets.

 ASK THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO INSPECT YOUR HOME FOR FIRE SAFETY AND PREVENTION DURING A FIRE If your clothes catch on fire, you should: • Stop, drop, and roll until the fire is extinguished.

 DO NOT PANIC • Do not assume someone else already called the fire department get out of the house then call the Fire Department.

 ESCAPE A FIRE • Check closed doors with the back of your hand to feel for heat before you open them. • If the door is hot do not open it. Find a second way out, such as a window. If you cannot escape through a window, hang a white sheet outside the window to alert firefighters to your presence. • Stuff the cracks around the door with towels, rags, bedding or tape and cover vents to keep smoke out. • If there is a phone in the room where you are trapped, call the fire department again and tell them exactly where you are. • If the door is cold slowly open it and ensure that fire and/or smoke is not blocking your escape route. If your escape route is blocked, shut the door and use another escape route. • If clear, leave immediately and close the door behind you. Be prepared to crawl. 

AFTER A FIRE • Once you are out of the building,

 STAY OUT! Do not go back inside for any reason. • If you are with a burn victim or are a burn victim yourself call 911, cool and cover your burns until emergency units arrive. • If you are a tenant contact the landlord. • Tell the fire department if you know of anyone trapped in the building. • Only enter when the fire department tells you it is safe to do so

Cylinder Maintenance
Correct cylinder maintenance is vital. If grit, dirt, oil or water get into the cylinder valve then safety and/or quality may be compromised.
Valve maintenance
If grit, dirt, oil or water enters the cylinder valve then safety and/or quality may be compromised and gas leakage may occur.

Before assembling regulators and fittings, it is extremely important to ensure there are no particles of dirt in the cylinder outlet.

If a supply of clean compressed air or nitrogen is available this should be used to blow out any loose particles of dirt from the valve sockets.

Please note: eye protection must be worn during this operation.

Where clean compressed air or nitrogen is not available, particles of dirt and residual moisture can be removed by 'cracking' open and immediately closing the valve (otherwise known as 'snifting').

Please note: when 'snifting' you must take the following safety precautions:

always wear eye protection
ensure there is no possible source of ignition within the vicinity
stand clear of the gas stream
on no account deflect the gas stream with the hand or the face
be aware of the potential noise hazard and take precautions if necessary
in the case of high purity gases such as argon, it is recommended that you dry the outlet of the cylinder valve with a clean cloth before snifting
never snift hydrogen as it may ignite spontaneously
never snift toxic gases: instead, carefully inspect the outlet and if there are any signs of dirt, blow it out with a jet of clean compressed air or nitrogen
If the valve outlet contains oil then do not attempt to use the cylinder; it must be returned to BOC.

Avoiding cylinder contamination – backflow
Backflow occurs when air enters a cylinder by flowing through an open valve or an empty cylinder.

Safety hazards can be created if contaminants are allowed to pass back into the cylinder.

Precautions must be taken to ensure that backflow of liquid or gas does not occur either when the cylinder is in use or when it is in store after being emptied.

Preventative measures
To avoid moisture and other contaminants entering the cylinder, the valve must be closed immediately after the gas has been used.

When cylinders are connected to a process in which the process pressure can exceed the cylinder supply pressure, it is extremely important to ensure adequate precautions are taken to avoid backflow in the cylinder.

The following should be observed:
always close the supply cylinder valve when not in use
never leave an empty cylinder connected to a process
never use a cylinder as a receiver for waste gas, liquid or other material
fit preventative equipment
Fit a non-return valve or check valve
This is the simplest and cheapest method of preventing backflow, but it must be considered as the minimum requirement.

These valves require regular maintenance as particulate matter or corrosive conditions can prevent resealing.

Fit an automatic shut-off/isolation-valve
This is activated by a low pressure signal when the supply gas cylinder pressure reaches a level which requires the cylinder to be replaced.

An alarm should normally be incorporated into the system to alert the operator.

What to do if your cylinder becomes contaminated
If you suspect a cylinder has become contaminated, by whatever means or whatever the contamination, you must inform BOC immediately.

Before the cylinder is returned, please ensure that you label the cylinder and provide any relevant information about the known or suspected contamination.

This information is required even if the contaminant, such as water, has been emptied out of the cylinder before return.

Please note:
never let oil or grease touch a cylinder or fittings. Lubrication of cylinder valves and fittings is highly dangerous as well as unnecessary. High pressure oxygen will react violently with grease; it may explode or ignite violently
never use jointing compounds. Do not apply white or red lead, jointing compounds or jointing tape to any cylinders, valves or fittings
oxygen equipment is at most risk from oil and grease: greasy hands, rags and gloves must not come into contact with any part of the cylinder or fittings
normal body oils do not usually cause contamination, but it is a sensible precaution never to touch any surface which is subject to oxygen under pressure