Kaboom! The Big Oxygen Safety Issue

BY NICOLENE OLCKERS

The date was 13 September 2019 For Mirko Locci, a qualified Rescue diver, it was a typical day of diving and helping out at the local dive centre in S’Oru e Mari on the Quatese coast, Sardinia He offered to refill the oxygen cylinders that divers would use with rebreathers (Closed Circuit Rebreathers are mainly used by technical, cave and specialist divers and require special training) He was familiar with the process at the centre and knew the equipment he had to use While filling the last of five of the cylinders, there was a loud and sudden explosion Mirko was engulfed in flames “After the explosion, I thought I had died As I walked out of the building, I looked around and remembered thinking it was okay”, he said The equipment room that housed the compressors or breathing gas filling equipment had remained intact When the bystanders asked if he was all right, he replied: “I’m a little scorched, but I am fine” Little did he know.

Air compressors refill cylinders for divers with breathable air, and operators need appropriate training to use the equipment At the time of the explosion, the machines were not being used as the air bank had adequate air to fill the cylinders Mirko used a booster pump, also known as a pressure multiplier, to fill the Oxygen specific cylinders This is used to compress oxygen for special breathing gas for divers using not only normal air, such as with closed circuit rebreathers This piece of equipment failed, resulting in the explosion and subsequent oxygen fire.

Mirko suffered first, second and third-degree burns to 40% of his body in the resulting fire Once outside, people rushed to him, and he realised that he needed to cool down his burnt skin He acquired a nearby garden hose, connected it to the water supply, and poured cold water over himself The fire and emergency services arrived within minutes, and he was rushed to the nearby hospital After stabilising and assessing his injuries, he was transported to a specialist burns facility He was treated there for the next two months.

The worst burns were to his legs and feet, and he needed skin grafts and transplants The transplants were successful, and he returned home after only one and a half months in the hospital Over the next year, he received physiotherapy and had to develop new habits to care for his burnt skin “The transplanted skin is not as elastic as normal skin and requires regular stretching and the regular application of moisturising lotion I was fortunate to have the best medical treatment,” said Mirko.

On 22 January 2023, we met Mirko while he was visiting South Africa and joined him on a few fantastic dives in False Bay He is a current DAN Europe member He advises that operators ensure their equipment is in peak condition when providing oxygen fills He also learned that the equipment he used during his accident needed special and regular maintenance.