Oxygen is Not Flammable Unlike other gases and chemicals, oxygen is not flammable.

It is classified as an accelerator, meaning that if there is a fire and oxygen is present, the fire will burn. The more oxygen, the larger the fire and the faster it will spread. We are use to seeing fires burn in an atmosphere containing about 21 percent oxygen. This is the atmosphere in which most materials are tested for safety, such as the covering of the chair in the above story. But when oxygen is flowing near such material, the material absorbs the oxygen and becomes more susceptible to burning. So, I am now more aware that the oxygen I cannot see has a presence, not only in my nostrils but all around me. My clothing and my hair contain more oxygen than that of a person not on oxygen. Knowing this, I understand more fully the "five foot rule" and stay at least this distance away from sources of sparks and flames. I keep my concentrator and store both liquid and compressed oxygen containers at least five feet from any source of flames or spark. I do not lean over a lighted gas stove with my cannula on; I no longer blow out the candles on my birthday cake; I no longer do the outdoor grilling; and I let others hold my candle during Christmas church services. In general, I do not put myself in a position where I am too close to an existing fire. I do not permit a cigarette to be lit near me. I do not permit smoking in the rooms where I normally use oxygen. The hidden danger here is that a hot ash could smolder for a long time before flaming up, as I remember it did in my home when I was very young. I do not work with paint remover or other flammable products.

Oxygen Tanks Incidents

Smoker denied O2 benefits Nova Scota 2004. In May, Nova Scotia's Health Department said it would no longer provide an asthma sufferer $240 a month to rent a concentrator and equipment for back up oxygen. The reason: A homecare worker caught him smoking, which is against the rules. After being caught smoking, Vernon Hughes, 59, a former three-pack a day smoker who can't afford to pay for his own equipment, promised the Nova Scotia's Health Department that he wouldn't smoke anymore. The department didn't budge, saying there is no guarantee he'll live up to that promise. The no smoking rule is in place as a safety measure and explained fully to beneficiaries. Smoker's home destroyed and neighbor injured Kalispell MO, 15 July 2004 A home on Kalispell's west side was extensively damaged Wednesday morning by a fire that was probably started by a cigarette and was accelerated by oxygen from medical oxygen tanks. A neighbor, who was trying to help was knocked down by the explosion of one oxygen tank, which also caused temporary hearing loss for a police officer. The resident of the burning house suffered burned hands while trying to remove materials from the home. She went to the neighbor for help. Nine Kalispell firefighters arrived with two fire engines and an ambulance. They discovered flames coming from the windows and eaves and menacing a neighboring home. A report by F. Ray Ruffatto of the fire department's prevention division said that while the exact cause of the fire is still undetermined, "initial investigation indicates the fire may be the result of carelessly discarded smoking materials." The home will be uninhabitable for an indefinite period of time.

Smoker dies in house fire Hudson MA 21 july 2004--The victim of yestrerday's fire died after suffering second- and third-degree burns from a devastating blaze at her Manning Street home Sunday. The resident was a smoker, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, and he said the combination of cigarettes and the multiple oxygen tanks in the home either caused or exacerbated the fire. She was in critical condition after being pulled from the house by a neighbor and then died yesterday at UMass Memorial Medical Center, University Campus in Worcester. The inside of the house was ruined, as well as some of the outside. Twenty-four firefighters responded and one was treated for heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation. The combination of oxygen tanks and cigarettes have sparked fires that since 1997 have killed 16 people in the state and caused severe burns or smoke inhalation in 20, said Coan. Smoking shortens oxygen patient's life Jamestown, NY 26 July 2004--A fire in the Jamestown Hotel killed a senior citizen and forced at least 100 other seniors to evacuate Sunday morning. The fire started in a fourth floor apartment. The resident was on medical oxygen and was apparently smoking, causing the blaze to rip through a building that is home to many senior citizens.. Parts of the building are still damaged, but most people were able to return to their homes Sunday. Question - Could humans breath (survive) in at atmosphere containing pure oxigen? Yes they could...for a while and then they would begin suffering from oxygen toxicity which causes a number of serious problems not the least which are some pretty serious neurological damage. PF ======================================================== Sure. At normal atmospheric pressure, it's fairly dangerous, as ordinary substances such as clothing become extremely flammable under those conditions. In the short term, the human body has no problems with a high concentration of oxygen. In fact, exposure to elevated oxygen pressures is sometimes even used as a treatment for some diseases, such as gangrene. Over the long term, some tissues may suffer oxidative damage. I don't really know what the long-term health effects are, though. Richard E. Barrans Jr., Ph.D. Assistant Director PG Research Foundation, Darien, Illinois ============================================

In pure oxygen, things which are normally not flammable, such as iron or steel, can become very flammable. In the following demonstration, a piece of steel wool is heated in a Bunsen burner flame, and then thrust into a jar containing pure oxygen. The iron glows with a bright yellow-orange color as it becomes hot enough to melt slightly, and throws off a shower of sparks. The slight "tick" sound heard during the demo is the sound of the glass jar breaking from the intense heat of the reaction. (The procedure is shown at three different levels of magnification.)