Investigating the Effectiveness of Active and Passive Protection Methods in Reducing the Risk of Fire in Scientific-Research Laboratories of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in 2017

Background & objectives: Research laboratories are important parts of universities. The risks and variety of laboratory activities have made the issue of fire protection one of the major safety challenges in the laboratory, and fire prevention is important to ensure the safety of people and equipment. Therefore, the present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of active and passive fire protection in scientific laboratories of Hamadan university of medical sciences. Methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the FRAME fire risk assessment method was used to assess the fire risk. Data were collected using a checklist and the resulting data was entered into the FRAME calculation program. First, the fire risk of buildings, people and laboratory activity were calculated and ranked according to the level of risk. The efficiency of active and passive protections available in laboratories was also evaluated. Results: The results showed that 63% of laboratories had inadequate protective equipment, and the calculated level of risk for staff in all laboratories is higher than 1. So, the existing protection facilities were not suitable to protect staff in all laboratories. The results related to fire risk of activity showed that only in 18 laboratories (39.13%), the existing protection facilities had good performance. Conclusion: Simultaneous use of active and passive protection is more effective in reducing risk. Due to the high risk of fire for people in all laboratories, it is recommended taking appropriate management measures to be prioritized by safety programs to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.