 |
January 2007 |  |
 |
||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | ||||
Success Story
Dinner is Alarming for HSB Equipment Specialist
After a long day squeezing inside boilers to perform internal inspections, HSB's Jeff Wochinski settled back inside a restaurant and looked forward to a relaxing meal. Instead, the alarm on the oxygen monitor he was wearing went off, causing a commotion as he fumbled to silence the piercing tone.
WHAT'S THE TROUBLE?
The device is used to test the air and warn technicians of low oxygen levels when they work inside large pressure vessels. The alarm could be serious, he told the restaurant manager, who came to his table to investigate. With three boilers running on a cold night, Wochinski agreed to check out the problem.
FAN THE FUMES
He spotted the source as soon as he entered the kitchen. Powerful new exhaust fans had been installed and were creating a vacuum inside the sealed building. That was drawing combustion gases from the boilers back inside, Wochinski said, instead of up and out the chimney, like a fireplace that had lost its draft.
CLEARING THE AIR
To increase the ventilation, some of the fans were turned off, two of the boilers were shut down and doors and windows were opened. The air inside the restaurant cleared immediately and the oxygen levels returned to normal.
WITHOUT RESERVATIONS
"I thought my work day was over," said Wochinski, who is now a field claim adjuster for HSB. The restaurant manager called the fan installer to correct the problem and invited Wochinski to come back on another night when things settled down. "He was very appreciative," Wochinski said, "and he was relieved."
