In 1993, a student at Crafton Hills College was on the path to a pre – nursing degree. As part of her studies, she took an introductory microbiology course that included a lab. In the lab, it was a basic safety rule to tie back long hair. But one morning, she made a forgetful error. She didn’t bring a hair tie. So, in a hurry, she braided her hair and went about her normal lab tasks.
The lab benches had tabletop fume hoods. These were like big boxes with vents at the top and bottom. The students often used Bunsen burners inside these hoods for their work. That morning, the student was busy sterilizing inoculating loops used for handling bacteria. Her lab partner walked behind her to rinse some test tubes and said something. Without thinking, the student quickly turned her head around.
It was a huge mistake. In an instant, her long, newly spiral – permed hair, which reached down to her waist, whipped across the top of the Bunsen burner. The strong smell of burning hair, mixed with the chemicals from her perm, hit her hard. She panicked and looked over her shoulder. She saw an orange glow on her lab coat. She quickly patted her hair to put out the flames. When she did, a clump of her curls came off.
The instructor rushed over. The student felt embarrassed and admitted what she had done. The instructor scolded her and warned that if she didn’t tie her hair back in the future, she would fail the class. It was a tough lesson, but for the rest of the semester, she made sure to follow the rules.
Surprisingly, later on, this same student became co – chair of the campus safety committee. At the very college where she had set her hair on fire, she was now advocating for lab safety.
Even today, as a lab technician in the anatomy and physiology department at Crafton Hills College, she still has long hair. Sometimes, she goes to the nearby microbiology lab. She warns the students there, saying, “I once set my hair on fire. Tie your hair back. Do any of you need a hair tie? I have some.” Accidents can happen, but often, they can be avoided. This story was shared in an interview, which has been shortened and made clearer for this report.
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