Case study
Paul Smith is the chef in a busy London restaurant. One Friday afternoon he was frying a dish when he was distracted by an argument between a waiter and the kitchen porter. As he turned to see what was going on, a large spill of fat from the pan caught fire and there were flames everywhere. Without thinking, Smith reacted by removing the burning pan from the hob but dropped it on the floor, burning his hands and arms.
Mary Jones, the restaurant manager and a qualified first-aider, quickly assessed the situation. She calmly activated the C02 extinguisher and quickly extinguished the flames on the floor and hob. She then turned her attention to Smith and instructed him to place his hands and arms under cold running water for at least 10 minutes. Almost immediately, this helped to soothe his burns; all the time, Jones continued to reassure him that the situation was under control.
After 10 minutes, Jones inspected Smith's arms and was pleased to report that the burns had only been superficial and there was no blister formation.
Jones asked one of the other members of staff to bring her the first aid box and, after washing and drying her own hands, she applied a dry, non-fluffy, sterile dressing to the affected area and secured it lightly in place. Luckily, Smith wasn't wearing a wrist watch or jewellery, otherwise these items would have had to have been gently removed.
This case study is a work of fiction and consequently the names, characters and incidents portrayed in the article are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.