Welcome to Douglas unedited...

Quick thoughts and ideas on the fly about my experiences, ideas, travel, and tips for screenprinting.

Today - fire!

We all know all about flash units and how many fires they have and will continue to be the source of, but....

How about exposure units! I was thinking about this again today after a conversation at the Long Beach show.

I was talking to an emulsion company rep at a shop with the operations manager and I smelled something - we were about three rooms over, I said fire and we booked it to the exposure room, one of the screen room workers had left his cleaning rag on the exposure unit - there in the room was a blazing fire...

The emulsion rep hoofed it to the fire extinguisher and was on his way back, pin pulled ready to spray while I had grabed the rag off the unit and was stomping it with my boots!

The entire time the OM was standing there in shock...

Four personalities

Careless
Proper
Clueless
Aggressive

What type of fire extinguisher?

Each fire extinguisher will have a rating based on what type of fires it will work with....

A, B, C, or D

One is for solids, like in the t-shirt storage area.

One is for chemicals, say that the cleaner you use takes a spark...

One is for fires where there are electrical lines and conductivity is an issue (flow of electrical power)

One for metals - now thats a hot fire!

There are combo units A.B. and C in one... I would choose this. one for each press (my thoughts).

In the area where shirts are boxed up you could choose one for solids fire - with the same idea in each area.

As ABC types are easy to find you can cover all of your bases.

I would also think about automatic fire control devices like the -sprinkle- systems, you could even talk to your insurance folks about discounts they may have for the systems you may want to put in.... (never hurts to ask, hey there may even be grants available from the city government for this also - again it never hurts to ask).

At a press there are electric lines, chemicals, and solids forcing you to mount the ABC type at the station.

Screen Printing is a strange business... think about the fact that we use electrical heating devices, high power UV lights, chemicals that will burn, and water to process the screens - is this not just too much fun?

Lets not forget that that nasty sticky stuff on the press (looks like cob webs) is a mix of lint and solvent based gule - is that just a great formula for a fire?

Many chemicals are heaver than air, they go to ground - in a fire this could be a problem with escape. (just more things to think about)

If you have never used a fire extinguisher, think about taking your old unit off the wall read the directions and check out the operation of the unit....

You could even get a replacement and try out the old one into the dumpster to see how it works (even think about your workers and if they know how to use them and where they are -test them if you think you should) - if you have the rechargeable type you can get it filled for next to nothing at the local fire extinguisher service shop.

Your local fire department may even have training in how to use equipment, and may even help with escape plans and other training like CPR and first aid.

And even now I understand the stomping is NOT the correct way to deal with a fire!