fires and explosions

Summary
To stay safe in an organic chemistry lab, you should always wear a lab coat, goggles and suitable gloves, keep flames and hot surfaces away from flammable solvents, and handle volatile or toxic chemicals in a fume hood. Never eat, drink or pipet by mouth in the lab, wash your hands when you finish, and avoid using damaged glassware or electrical equipment.

When you walk into an organic chemistry lab for the first time, the benches, glassware and instruments can feel exciting and intimidating at the same time.
This article is meant to be quiet, practical “pre-reading” before you ever light a heater or pour a solvent.

It does not replace your department’s official safety rules. Instead, it helps you understand why those rules exist, and what is most likely to go wrong if you ignore them.

1. Three common types of lab accidents

Most accidents in the organic lab fall into three broad groups:

Fires and explosions – ignition of flammable vapours or reactive chemicals.
Cuts and mechanical injuries – mainly from broken or mishandled glassware.
Exposure to toxic materials – by inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption.

Once you start noticing which group a situation belongs to, it becomes much easier to see danger coming a few steps earlier.

2. Fires and explosions: controlling ignition sources

Organic chemistry uses a lot of volatile, flammable liquids. Their vapours are heavier than air and can travel along the bench or near the floor to find a flame or spark.

The safest mindset is:

Assume flammable vapour is present whenever you are using low-boiling organic solvents.

The main ignition sources in a teaching lab are:

2.1 Open flames

Open flames include Bunsen burners, alcohol lamps, matches and lighters.

Vapours from solvents like diethyl ether, pentane or acetone can ignite even when the flame is a few metres away.
For this reason, many organic labs do not allow open flames at all when flammable solvents are in use.

If your lab still uses Bunsen burners, they should only be lit when your instructor explicitly allows it, and never near open bottles of solvent or waste containers.

2.2 Hot surfaces

Hot plates and heating mantles have no visible flame, but their surfaces can easily ignite solvent spilled on them.

Typical problems:

A reaction mixture bumps out of a flask onto a hot plate.
Someone sets a solvent bottle or beaker directly on a hot heating mantle.
The thermostat on a hot plate switches on and off, and the internal spark ignites vapour from an open container nearby.

Practical habits:

Keep solvent bottles and waste containers away from heaters.
Wipe up spills immediately once equipment has cooled enough to do so.
Turn off heaters as soon as you are finished with them.

2.3 Faulty electrical equipment

Frayed power cords, loose plugs, and damaged sockets can produce sparks or overheat.

Never use equipment with exposed wires, cracked plugs or scorched insulation.
If you notice a problem, unplug the device and report it instead of “making it work this one time”.

2.4 Chemical fires

Some reactions themselves generate enough heat or gas to ignite nearby material:

Very reactive metals (such as sodium) reacting with water and releasing hydrogen gas.
Strong oxidizing agents mixed with organic material.

You will normally only perform such reactions under close supervision. Read the pre-lab notes carefully and understand where the heat and gas are coming from.

3. Cuts and mechanical injuries: working safely with glass

Glassware is at the heart of the organic lab, and also a major source of minor injuries.

3.1 Breaking glass rods or tubing

When you need to cut glass tubing, the safe method is:

Score a small line around the glass with a file or glass-cutting tool.
Wet the score line with a drop of water to help the crack start cleanly.
Hold the tube with both hands, wrapped in a towel or paper tissue, with thumbs placed opposite the score line.
Gently bend the glass away from the score until it snaps along the line.

Never try to “snap” un-scored glass by brute force – it tends to shatter unpredictably.

3.2 Inserting glass into stoppers

Thermometers and glass tubes are often fitted into rubber or cork stoppers. Done badly, this is a classic way to drive broken glass into the palm of your hand.

Safer technique:

Lubricate the end of the glass with a drop of water or glycerol.
Hold the stopper in one hand and the glass close to the end that enters the stopper with the other.
Rotate the stopper gently while pushing slowly.
Never hold the glass far from the stopper and push hard – if it breaks, the broken end can be forced into your hand.

3.3 Chipped or cracked glassware

Before you use any beaker, flask or funnel, quickly check:

Are the rims smooth?
Is there any crack along the body or near the joint?

If you find chips or cracks:

Do not use the item, especially under vacuum or heat.
Place it in the designated broken-glass container or follow your lab’s procedure.

A small chip on the lip of a beaker is still sharp enough to slice your finger.

4. Exposure to toxic materials

Even if nothing catches fire and no glass breaks, you can still be harmed by breathing, swallowing or absorbing chemicals.

4.1 Inhalation: use the fume hood

Many organic liquids evaporate readily and have irritating or toxic vapours.

A fume hood is designed to remove these vapours from the lab air.
Whenever you work with volatile, smelly or toxic substances, assume they belong in the hood unless your instructor explicitly says otherwise.

Practical points:

Make sure the hood is on and drawing air before you start.
Work at least a hand-span inside the opening, not right at the edge.
Keep the sash at the recommended height to maintain good airflow.

4.2 Ingestion: keep chemistry out of your mouth

Ingestion accidents are almost always preventable:

Never taste any substance in the lab.
Never pipet liquids by mouth – use a pipet bulb or mechanical pipettor.
Do not eat or drink in the lab, and do not store food in lab refrigerators.
At the end of the session, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water.

Any food, drink, or lip balm used in the lab can easily become contaminated.

4.3 Skin absorption: protect your skin

Many organic compounds can pass through the skin, especially if they are non-polar and your gloves are not resistant to them.

Wear appropriate protective gloves when handling liquids or solids that could irritate or be absorbed through the skin.
If a chemical is spilled on your skin:
- Rinse the area immediately with plenty of water for at least 10–15 minutes.
- Inform your instructor, even if it doesn’t hurt at once.

Gloves are not all the same. Later, you will learn how to match glove materials (for example, nitrile vs latex) to the solvents you use.

5. A short checklist for your first lab session

Before or during your first organic lab, make sure you can answer these:

6. Final thoughts

The organic chemistry lab will always contain some level of risk, simply because we work with energetic reactions and active molecules.
But with a basic understanding of how accidents actually happen—and with a few good habits—you can keep that risk low enough to learn and explore with confidence.

In future ChemNorth articles, we will look more closely at specific topics: how to choose safe heating equipment, how to handle broken glass, and how to work effectively in the fume hood.

For now, bring this safety briefing with you in your mind the next time you step into the lab. It is the quiet foundation under every successful experiment.

Tag: fires and explosions

Your First Organic Chemistry Lab: A Practical Safety Briefing