Hot gloves - spontaneous combustions by latex surgical gloves can cause fires

Science World, Nov 3, 1995 by Lynda Jones

Ever hear of a pair of gloves starting a fire - by themselves? That's what happened last August at a warehouse in New York City. According to fire officials, crates of latex surgical gloves stored there set the building ablaze when the gloves spontaneously combusted.

"Spontaneous combustion [also called self-ignition] happens when a chemical combines with oxygen, and generates enough heat to set materials near it on fire," says William Berkowitz, a chemist at Queens College in New York.

Officials aren't sure exactly what chemicals caused the warehouse blaze. But Berkowitz suggests that the rubber the gloves are made of may be to blame.

Manufacturers make latex rubber from tree sap through a process called polymetization, Berkowitz explains. Polymerization is a chemical reaction in which smaller molecules bond together to form larger chainlike molecules.

"Some of the sap may not have been completely polymerized during the rubber-making process," Berkowitz theorizes. "That may have allowed the unreacted material to slowly combine with oxygen in the air, and give off heat.

"Eventually the gloves probably generated enough heat to set themselves - and everything else around them - on fire," Berkowitz says.

"Spontaneous combustion is a fairly rare occurrence," he adds, though materials like metal filings and some lab chemicals, such as sodium or phosphorous, can also self-ignite.

Fire officials are still investigating the glove incident. Meanwhile, officials have warned hospitals and medical-supply companies to look out for the "hot" gloves.

FAST FACT

More than 240 firefighters put out a warehouse blaze caused by "self-igniting" gloves. Sixty-seven firefighters were injured.

One thousand cases of "hot" gloves have been distributed throughout the U.S. Two other incidents of small fires or melting have been reported.

Scientists will analyze the "hot" gloves to identify the chemicals that caused the blaze.