The idea of health and well being for members of the community is central to hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
Keeping this in mind, you should make sure your medical office or healthcare facility has the appropriate fire safety measures in place by taking the required actions.
In order to safeguard the buildings as well as the patients, employees, and visitors inside of them, the healthcare facility must also have the appropriate fire safety equipment installed.
Here are some explanations for the critical nature of fire safety in hospitals and healthcare facilities, as well as the reasons special measures are required in these kinds of commercial buildings.
In general, fire safety is an important concept. Nonetheless, you will recognize the absolute necessity for top-notch fire safety products and procedures to be in place within these facilities when you consider what could happen should a fire occur in a healthcare facility or hospital, which has numerous patients, employees, and visitors in the building.
You should investigate the four fire safety principles when thinking about how to manage fire incidents in a healthcare facility, should they arise.
Notification, extinguishment, relocation or evacuation, and life safety are some of these principles.
Life Safety
To ensure the safety of the people inside the building, the first step is to install life safety precautions.
As patients might not be able to move themselves to safety in a hospital setting, this is very important. The life safety of hospital employees as well as others must therefore be guaranteed.
Notification
It is imperative that everyone within the building receives appropriate notification once actions have been taken to guarantee the immediate life safety needs of those inside.
Announcing something over the hospital intercom system or setting off the fire alarm may be necessary in this situation.
Furthermore, an essential component of the notification phase is making rapid contact with the fire department.
Extinguish
The next action on the list of fire safety principles is to put out the fire, if at all possible.
Not every situation will allow for this, so it’s crucial to refrain from trying to put out the fire if doing so could put you in danger.
Moving or evacuating
The principles of evacuation and relocation also apply to fire safety. Employees at the hospital should leave the building and move away from the fire.
The medical staff should also have a plan in place for moving and evacuating patients inside the building.
These four fire safety principles can apply at different points during the fire emergency and change according to the intensity of the fire, the risks involved, and other variables.
Hospital Fire Safety: Recognizing Typical Fire Risks
The significance of fire safety in hospitals cannot be emphasized because there are numerous locations throughout a hospital or healthcare facility where fires could break out.
Starting by concentrating on the riskiest areas could be a wise move. The following are some of the most typical places in hospitals to look for fire safety:
Electrically equipped rooms
One of the main reasons for fires in healthcare facilities is the malfunction or overloading of electrical devices and circuits.
Maintaining an up to date inventory of your electrical equipment can help ensure that everything is functioning properly and reduce the risk of a fire. When conducting an evaluation, make sure to look over these:
- The cords and plugs are in good working order.
- Not a single outlet is overworked.
- Broken plugs and frayed wires are replaced appropriately.
- Electrical equipment is operational.
- There are no gadgets producing smoke, smells, or sparks.
Kitchens
Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are typically equipped with multiple kitchens, as kitchens are a basic feature.
Given the increased risk of fires in this area, hospital fire safety protocols should include a thorough evaluation and special measures for these rooms.
Although kitchen fires are frequently contained, there is no assurance that they won’t spread to other locations.
The following should be part of kitchen safety protocols:
- Every day, clean your kitchen appliances, especially the grills and fryers.
- Keep combustible materials out of the way of cooking areas.
- Charged fire extinguishers should be kept in easily accessible places.
- Regularly empty and clean fryers and grease traps.
- Regularly check smoke detectors that are in working order.
Laundry Rooms
Laundry rooms, like kitchens, frequently experience excessive heat, which increases the risk of fire.
The buildup of lint presents another fire risk. Take the following actions to keep your laundry room fire safe:
- Maintain a schedule to make sure the lint traps are checked every day and clean them frequently.
- Linens that are too tightly packed or over dried should not be kept in a cabinet or on a cart.
- Make sure the exhaust and inlet ducts are clear of debris and lint on a regular basis.
- Verify that the room’s smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are operational.
Hospital Fire Safety: Strategies for Preventing Fires
The first steps in hospital fire safety are preventive measures. There are other fire prevention techniques that can lessen the chance of a fire occurring, even though addressing the primary causes of fires in healthcare facilities is a good place to start.
Since smoking is the primary cause of home fires and a significant risk to healthcare facilities, prevention starts with the strict management of smokers.
Most facilities do not allow smoking anywhere on the property. Unfortunately, many centers also have to deal with patients who won’t willingly play by the rules.
If that is your situation, a designated smoking area situated far away from the building and oxygen tanks may be the best option. You can also install a tip resistant ashtray in this location to safely dispose of butts.
Hospital Fire Safety: Critical Steps That No Facility Can Ignore
Comprehensive fire safety plans and employee training are essential components of any healthcare facility. The four Hospital Fire Safety Principles should be included in the plan:
- Life Safety: Pay attention to people’s personal safety in the area and take appropriate action, such as notifying, evacuating, or putting out a fire.
- Notification: Use an intercom or alarm system to alert others.
- Extinguish: If at all possible, use a nearby fire extinguisher to put out the fire. This might have to wait until after everyone has left.
- Relocate or Evacuate: Post maps of fire evacuation routes and make sure all employees are aware of your facility’s evacuation plan before relocating staff to safer areas.
Healthcare Facility Fire Safety: Preventive Steps
Although reducing the risk of a fire is a good place to start, active and passive fire protection techniques are also required to lessen the effects in the event that a fire does break out.
Sprinkler systems and fire extinguishers are examples of active fire protection, whereas compartmentation is an example of passive fire protection.
Compartmentation is the process of limiting a fire to its initial area. Hospitals use compartmentation, which consists of internal divisions divided by floors and walls that are resistant to fire. Windows and fire doors are additional elements of compartmentalization.
Healthcare Facilities’ Fire Safety: Handling Fires
In the unlikely event that a fire does occur despite your best preventive measures, your staff should be trained in the fastest possible fire extinguishing and person evacuation procedures.
All employees should be required to complete a fire safety course, and they should periodically take refresher courses to ensure their knowledge and skills remain up to date.
The RACE fire safety protocol is widely employed by healthcare facilities. This acronym, which is comparable to the Four Principles of Hospital Safety, denotes:
- Rescue – If you can safely do so, help anyone who needs immediate assistance to escape the fire.
- Alert – Set off the fire alarm to alert firefighters to the fire once you are safe from immediate danger.
- Choose – Try to keep the fire contained by shutting doors and windows to stop it from spreading.
- Extinguish or Put out the fire – If at all possible, try to put out the fire by yourself before firefighters arrive. Pay attention to getting yourself and others out of the way if the fire is too large to put out safely.
Conclusion
The Value of Fire Safety in Medical Facilities: Education Is Key
Healthcare fire safety training ought to be a top priority for your whole staff because the value of fire safety in hospitals and other healthcare facilities cannot be emphasized.
Frequent training sessions guarantee that all staff members in your facility possess the abilities and information required to act with effectiveness in the event of a fire.
Individual and group fire safety training with certification is provided by the Fire Fighting Company. Since classes are conducted online, team members can participate from any convenient location.
Moreover, CEs for the Board of Nursing and EMS are offered. Get more about our course offerings by getting in touch with United Fire and Safety Services right now.
