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Insights from a laboratory fire

Nature Chemistry volume 15, pages 885–889 (2023)Cite this article

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Fires are relatively common yet underreported occurrences in chemical laboratories, but their consequences can be devastating. Here we describe our first-hand experience of a savage laboratory fire, highlighting the detrimental effects that it had on the research group and the lessons learned.

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Fig. 1: Laboratory floorplan and images of the fire aftermath.
Fig. 2: Photographs taken after the fire.
Fig. 3: Photographs of objects found after the fire.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Q. Song (Imperial College London) who suggested we write this article, the process of which served as a somewhat therapeutic exercise. We also acknowledge V. Biegler, L. Brandfellner, Q. Jiang, A. Mautner, F. Mayer, A. Menner and H. W. Müller for their assistance during recovery efforts. Special thanks are also given to the Viennese Fire Brigade, the disaster recovery and restoration company, and all colleagues from Vienna but especially from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria and around the world who reached out to offer their help.

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  1. Twitter: @Bismarck_PaCE

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Material Chemistry and Research, Polymer and Composite Engineering (PaCE) Group, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Mitchell P. Jones, Kathrin Weiland, Claudia Mitterer, Philip Verdross, Robert T. Woodward & Alexander Bismarck

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, UK

    Alexander Bismarck

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  1. Mitchell P. Jones
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  2. Kathrin Weiland
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  4. Philip Verdross
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  5. Robert T. Woodward
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  6. Alexander Bismarck
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Correspondence to Alexander Bismarck.

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Jones, M.P., Weiland, K., Mitterer, C. et al. Insights from a laboratory fire. Nat. Chem. 15, 885–889 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01254-6

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