Kesmarc hyperbaric chamber fire

[monstrpony]

Not sure boots over shoes is really an acceptable answer. Someone said that an eraser can rub the oxidized layer off of metal, and once the oxidized layer is gone, your in trouble in a high pressure O2 environment. It does NOT have to be a spark; it can just be exposing unoxidized metal to the high pressure O2. Similarly, glue-ons aren’t the solution if the glue is reactive to pure O2 (or the shoe material, for that matter).

Just as there are ways to protect humans who can’t be put in a chamber without some metal implement, there should be ways to accommodate horses who’s injuries are such that they cannot be without some kind of support on their feet.

But also consider that a horse in residence at one of these rehab facilities–assuming no extreme foot pathology–can probably be maintained without exposure to footing that would dammage sensitive feet. Going barefoot to increase safety inside the treatment chamber isn’t out of the question for the horse with a medical issue.

The horses getting this therapy while still in work, though–that’s a tough issue. I would anticipate some rapid development in hoof boot choices in the near future … Either in place of shoes, or as substantial shoe coverings.

[Grataan]

[QUOTE=Snowflake;6146234]
But there are alternatives out there. Personally, if it were me and I were seeking treatment for my horse who is currently in a pair of flat steel bar shoes, I would discuss the alternative of doing a glue on vinyl shoe or one of the rubber shoes. But, I proceed with more things horsey with extreme caution.[/QUOTE]

You can’t use glue ons, or Rhino linings, or coat sprays, hoof polish of any kind etc-because of the danger of off gassing. Glue ons are actually more dangerous in the chamber than steel shoes according to the HBOT techs posting on the eventing thread.

[Snowflake]

@Grataan;6146810

You can’t use glue ons, or Rhino linings, or coat sprays, hoof polish of any kind etc-because of the danger of off gassing. Glue ons are actually more dangerous in the chamber than steel shoes according to the HBOT techs posting on the eventing thread.

Well, whodathunkit?! Good to know!

[Joanne]

“Witness Says Company Would Fix (the chamber) ‘When It Could’”

http://www.wesh.com/news/30475457/detail.html

[Alagirl]

@Grataan;6146810

You can’t use glue ons, or Rhino linings, or coat sprays, hoof polish of any kind etc-because of the danger of off gassing. Glue ons are actually more dangerous in the chamber than steel shoes according to the HBOT techs posting on the eventing thread.

dang, I thought Rhino Lining would be the way to go! :no:

[cloudyandcallie]

I don’t see why a horse couldn’t wear soft-rides and take them off before going into the chamber. That is, if the velcro on the soft-rides would be a problem around the oxygen.

I do know that all the human doctors I know are very careful in their operating rooms concerning static electricity. Dealing with oxygen, you don’t want anything to cause an explosion.

Sounds like the people down there got lax from having no issues with this horse, so they did not sedate him. Or maybe even did not make sure his shoe covers were attached correctly. A sad end for the humans and the horse.

[Guilherme]

When I say “think RhinoLining” I don’t mean the branded product, but rather a material that can take a hit without failing.

I’d bet you would find such coatings in the nuclear submarine world. There you have confined spaces, closed atmospheres, and no tolerance for “outgassing” of noxious or hazarous gasses. It’s been years since I visited a “nuclear pig boat” so I don’t know what the commonly used products are. But I’d bet that they do.

I agree with C&C that it looks like folks got complacent and paid the price for their failure to correctly follow good operating practices.

G.

[Alagirl]

@cloudyandcallie;6146971

I don’t see why a horse couldn’t wear soft-rides and take them off before going into the chamber. That is, if the velcro on the soft-rides would be a problem around the oxygen.

I do know that all the human doctors I know are very careful in their operating rooms concerning static electricity. Dealing with oxygen, you don’t want anything to cause an explosion.

Sounds like the people down there got lax from having no issues with this horse, so they did not sedate him. Or maybe even did not make sure his shoe covers were attached correctly. A sad end for the humans and the horse.

Verlco is bad in O2 atmosphere(re: Apollo I Capsule)

[Coanteen]

[QUOTE=Joanne;6146951]
“Witness Says Company Would Fix (the chamber) ‘When It Could’”

http://www.wesh.com/news/30475457/detail.html[/QUOTE]

Scary as that sounds, it wouldn’t have had any effect on this accident. What they mean is that because of leaking valves they may have had trouble automatically maintaining chamber depth (pressure), so the operators would have to periodically add more gas to the chamber to maintain proper pressure (the pressure is monitored).

At worst, had the operators just completely ignored the leakage, the chamber would have been very slowly “coming up” during the treatment time, instead of staying at the treatment pressure. This would do nothing to the fire/explosion risk (theoretically it might lessen it a fraction of a fraction of a degree, but nothing in practical terms), and it wouldn’t be dangerous to the horse either. Mostly an annoyance to the operator.

[goneriding24]

Just curious, when they say the hoof is wrapped, HOW is it wrapped? Is it the hoof only, up to the coronet band or just the lower half of the hoof? Does the wrap go up and over the bulb and then around the front, possibly covering part of the pastern? If the hoof were totally wrapped, wouldn’t wrapping the thing nine ways to Sunday be the way to go, that way nothing could come off or get kicked off?

Admittedly, I know nothing of this type of wrapping.

[Lone]

I just saw this article on MSNBC that says the horse’s shoes weren’t taped or booted at all.

[goneriding24]

[QUOTE=Lone;6148600]
I just saw this article on MSNBC that says the horse’s shoes weren’t taped or booted at all.[/QUOTE]

I just read the article. Tears came up in my eyes when I read about the flames and the poor horse! It’s just too, too much…

[JackieBlue]

Really? The horse was my last thought when reading that article. The poor girls and their families. :no:

[goneriding24]

[QUOTE=JackieBlue;6148788]
Really? The horse was my last thought when reading that article. The poor girls and their families. :no:[/QUOTE]

Uh, yeah. I had a horse burn to death in a trailer fire. Kinda, sorta brought back memories, y’know?? I was there, watching it and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. ETA: Now, that I’m kind of centered again, my mare who died was two weeks to a month away from foaling. The foal was estimated to be worth about $4,000. Lost them both. Yeah, tears came up.

Of course, I feel bad for the girls and their families. Didn’t think I’d have to write it.

[Mike_Matson]

Causes for Equine Hyperbaric Chamber Explosion in Florida Identified

http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=19633&source=rss

A very sad eyewitness account.

[I]A Feb. 10 explosion at a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at a Florida equine facility that killed one woman and a horse was caused by contact from the horse’s steel shoe with the chamber.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office concluded in a report that the explosion, at the Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC) in Ocala, Fla., was an accident. The blast also injured a second woman.

Killed in the explosion was 28-year-old Erica Marshall, who was employed by KESMARC. Sorcha Moneley, 33, of London, England, who was at the facility to look at the oxygen chamber for possible future use in Europe, was injured during the accident.

According to the report, Moneley said the horse in the chamber had steel shoes on his hooves. He began kicking and knocked off a part of the chamber’s protective padding, revealing a metal surface. When the horse kicked again, Moneley said, a spark was created when one of the steel shoes connected with the metal surface.

As Marshall attempted to return the chamber to normal pressure, Moneley left to call emergency personnel, the report said. As Moneley departed to call 911, according to the report, “she looked back and saw Erica staring at the monitor and crying.”

Moneley told the investigators she then heard two explosions in rapid succession. Moneley said the second explosion was much larger than the first. Moneley said she was about 20 feet away from the chamber when the explosion occurred and that the second one “knocked her down and took her breath away,” according to the report

Moneley also said “she was aware that there were some problems with the valves on the chamber leaking” and that the facility manager was attempting to have the problem reviewed by an engineer.

According to the report, KESMARC manager Leonora Byrne said that Marshall had operated the chamber for two years.[/I]

[TheJenners]

Sad…

[MistyBlue]

Oh my…so very heartbreaking.

[LLDM]

Even so, it still leaves many questions unanswered. Was the horse sedated or not? If not, why not? Were the horse’s shoes covered or not? If so, with what and why was the covering compromised? If not, why not? Was the chamber in proper repair? Were the techs properly trained? Were proper procedures in place? If so, were those procedures followed? If not, why not? Was there any indication of why the horse became agitated?

While horses certainly DO become agitated, and not always for reasons readily apparent, surely this eventuality is considered in this sort of a procedure.

I am not looking around to cast blame. But this whole thing just breaks my heart. A dedicated young woman is dead, an innocent horse is dead, another woman is severely injured. I really, REALLY hope there is a proper, in-depth investigation going on. Industrial accidents, esp. those involving a human death, are a very serious matter. Culpability exists somewhere in this mess, and it isn’t the horse. Horses do what horses do, it’s up to the people in charge and the businesses to act accordingly and reduce risk.

This just sucks.

SCFarm

[NRB]

such a sad thing. sorry for all involved

[Lone]

@LLDM;6150546

Even so, it still leaves many questions unanswered. Was the horse sedated or not? If not, why not? Were the horse’s shoes covered or not? If so, with what and why was the covering compromised? If not, why not? Was the chamber in proper repair? Were the techs properly trained? Were proper procedures in place? If so, were those procedures followed? If not, why not? Was there any indication of why the horse became agitated?

This article has conflicting information about whether the horse was sedated or not, but says that the horse didn’t have his shoes covered because it was “unnecessary since the inside of the chamber was lined with a protective coating”