fire safety in healthcare facilities

7/28/2019 Fire Safety in Healthcare Facilities

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A Self-Teaching Fire & Life Safety Program

PortlandFire&RescueFirePreventionDivision

PublicEducationOffice

FireSafetyIn

HealthCare

Facilities


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PortlandFire&Rescue Page2of11FirePreventionDivision


I n t r o d u c t i o nGoal:

Toensurethatemployeesareknowledgeableinfirepreventionandemergencyresponseinhealthcare

facilities.

Objectives:

Employerwill:1. Developafireandlifesafetyemergencyplan(seePortlandFire&RescuesEmergency

OperationsGuide)whichcontainssuggestionstoincreaseeachtenantsopportunityfor

survivinganemergencyandhowtoproduceaplanthatcomplieswiththeprovisionsof

applicablecodes. http://www.portlandonline.com/fire/index.cfm?c=44518&a=194657

2. Providetrainingforallemployees.Employeeswillbeableto:

1. Describetheemergencyproceduresfortheirfacility,incaseoffire.2. Identifycommonfirehazardsinhealthcarefacilitiesandhowtopreventthem.3. Demonstratetheoperationoffireandlifesafetysystems(manualpullalarms,firedoors,calling

911forhelp,etc.).

4. DescribetheRACEresponsesystemusedinhealthcarefacilitiestoensurepatientsafety.5. Demonstratehowtocorrectlyuseafireextinguisher.

Materials:

Handouts,obtainedfromPortlandFire&Rescue,suchas:"DevelopingYourOwnFireandLifeSafetyEmergencyPlan","10TipsforFireSafety","PortableFireExtinguishers",and"HomeFire

SafetyChecklist".

Videos(checkedoutforupto3daysavailablethroughthePortlandFire&Rescueorpurchasedbythehealthcarefacility),suchas"EmployeeEvacuation: ActionforSurvival"and"Fire

ExtinguisherSafety."

Thefirerecordforhealthcarefacilitiesisgood;however,thereisthepotentialforlargelossoflife

becauseoftheconcentrationoflargenumbersofvulnerableindividualsinoneplace. Itisimportant

thatemployeesarewellversedintheFireandLifeSafetyEmergencyPlanfortheirfacility. Whenan

emergencyhappens,itwillbetheirquickactionsthatcanmakethedifferenceintheoutcome.


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L e s s o n O u t l i n e Keepingtheinterestofstaffmembersduringfiresafetytrainingcanbea

challengeespeciallywhenyouarereviewinginformationwhichemployees

havereceived

in

the

past.

Involving

employees

in

the

program

is

agood

way

tomaintaintheirinterest,whileincreasingtheirknowledgelevelonfireand

lifesafety. Also,trylimitingtheprogramto60minutesorlessinlength.

GettingStarted:

Makesureallemployeeshaveacopyofyourfacility'swrittenfireandlifesafetyemergencyplan,aswellasacopyof10TipsForFireSafety","PortableFireExtinguishers",and"HomeFire

SafetyChecklist". ThesehandoutsareavailablethroughPortlandFire&RescuesPublic

EducationOffice.

Reviewtheemployee'sobjectives. UnderstandhowimportantitistogettoknowyourFireandLifeSafetyEmergencyPlan.

Familiarizeyourselfwiththeemergencyproceduresbeforeyouneedtofollowthem. Beable

toreactquicklywheneverafireisdiscoveredorthealarmsounds.

Reviewtheactionstobetakenifanemployeediscoversafire. UsetheRACEacronym(RescueAlarmConfineExtinguish)tohelppeopleremembertheresponseprocedureaseasily

aspossible.

Discussyourfacility'sengineeredfireandlifesafetyemergencysystems. Doeseveryoneknowwhatandwheretheyare,andhowtheywork? Whichofthefollowingdoesyourfacilityhave,

andwhatistheirimportanceinafire...smokedetectors,manualpullalarms,firedoors,alarm

systems,sprinklers,fireextinguishers,etc.?

Discusshazardsparticulartoyourfacility. Whatcanyouidentifyandwhatprecautionscanbetaken?

USETHEFOLLOWINGSCENARIOSTOSTIMULATEDISCUSSIONON

EMERGENCYRESPONSEPROCEDURES

1. Onehourintoyourshift,thefirealarmactivates. Describewhatyoumaybedoingatthattimeandhowyouwouldreacttothealarm. Whatwouldbethefirstthingyouwoulddo? Wouldyouinitiate

theRACEresponseortrytoevacuate?

2. Youdiscoverafireintheutilityroomthatisalreadytoobigtotryandextinguish. Describewhatyourreactionwouldbe...whatwouldbeyourresponse,andinwhatorder?

3. Aretherespecialsituationsinyourfacilitythatyouneedtobeawareofincaseofafireemergency?Describeanyspecialsituationsthatwouldrequirearesponseotherthanthatgenerallydescribed

forstaff(nonambulatoryindividuals,visitorsunfamiliarwithevacuationprocedures,patientswith

specialmedicalneeds).


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F i r e E x t i n g u i s h e r sHoldafiredrillwithinamonthofyourprograminorderforstaffto

practicetheFire&LifeSafetyEmergencyPlan. Itisimperativethat

everyonehave

the

opportunity

to

physically

run

through

the

RACE

procedures. Studiesindicatethatunlessadultsactuallypracticesafety

behaviors,theyverywellmaynotbeabletoperformthemcorrectly

whentheneedarises.

Provideanexampleofeachtypeoffireextinguisherfoundinyourfacility.

Distributefireextinguisherhandoutstoeachemployee. Showthevideo"FireExtinguisherSafety"(12minutes). Discussthetypesoffireextinguishersfoundinyourbuilding;

theirlocation,howtoaccessthem,andthetypesoffireson

which

they

would

(or

would

not)

be

used.

Identify

the

parts

of

theextinguishers. Passthemaround,sothateveryonecan

identifyandfamiliarizethemselveswithhandlingthem. Review

thePASSsystemforusingaportablefireextinguisher:Pullthepin

Aimatthebaseofthefire Squeezethehandle and,Sweep

thenozzlebackandforth.PULLAIMSQUEEZESWEEP.

***NOTE:Personalsafetyandthesafetyofothersarethemost

importantfactorswhendecidingwhethertofightasmallfire. Before

youbegintofightafire,besureofthefollowing: RESCUEALARM

CONFINEEXTINGUISH.

Thefireisconfinedtoasmallarea,suchasinawastebasket andisnotspreading(gettingbigger). Aportablefireextinguisheris

nomatchforalargeorrapidlyadvancingfire.

Yourbackistowardsanunobstructedexit,towhichthefirewillnotspread. Youmustalwaysassumethatyoumaynotbeableto

extinguishthefireyouarefighting. Ifthefiredoesn'tdiminishwithyourfirstattack,orif

anythinggoeswrong,leaveimmediatelyanddonotreturn.

Theroomisnotfilledwithsmoke. Firefighterswearprotectivebreathingequipmentbecauseofthedangersofsmokeinhalation. Withoutprotection,youmayquicklyfindyourselfunable

tobreathe

or

see.

Itisrecklesstofightafireinanyothercircumstances. Ifindoubt,leaveimmediately;closeoffthearea

toslowthespreadoffireandsmoke. Ifnecessary,evacuateandwaitoutsideatyourdesignated

meetingplacefortheFireDepartment.


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HandsOnTraining

Ifyouhaveextrafireextinguishersavailable[onesnotrequiredforthefacility'sprotection]employees

canpracticedischargingtheminanopenoutdoorarea. Agarbagecanmakesagoodtargetandwill

helpcontainextinguishingagentifadrychemicalpowderisused. Sincedrychemicalpowdercanbe

corrosivetosomemetalswhencombinedwithwater,careshouldbetakennottouseitnearcarsor

otherequipment. EachpersonshouldtakeaturnutilizingthePASSmethodofoperation;pullingthe

pin,aiming

the

extinguisher

low

at

the

base

of

the

fire,

squeezing

the

handle,

and

applying

the

agent

in

asweepingmotion.Justafewsecondsofdischargingtheextinguishergiveseachpersonafeelforthe

realthing.Usually,severalpeoplecanuseoneextinguisherbeforeitisfullydischarged.

Remember:Evenifyouaresuccessfulinputtingoutthefire,itshouldbeinspected. IT'STHELAW...AIIfiresareto

bereported.

I n s t r u c t o r I n f o r m a t i o n Themajorcausesoffiresinhealthcarefacilitiesare:SmokingMaterials:Carelesshandlingofsmokingmaterialsisthemostcommoncauseoffirein

healthcarefacilities. Althoughsmokingisnotallowedinsidefacilities,

employeesmustsharetheresponsibilityofrestrictingsmokingto

designatedareasoutsidethebuilding. Certainlysmokingshouldneverbe

allowed,byeitherstafforpatients,inanyareawhereoxygenisinuseoris

stored. Ifasmokingareaisprovidedoutsidethefacility,large,deep,non

tipashtrays

should

be

provided.

Cigarette

butts

tossed

on

the

ground

can

ignite,particularlyiftheylandingardens,barkdustorothercombustibles.

Equipment:Faultyequipmentandtheimproperuseofequipmentareothermajorcauses

offireinhealthcarefacilities. Allequipmentshouldbecheckedand

maintainedroutinely. Allstaffmemberscanbealertforcracked,split,melted

orbrokenelectricalcordsorplugs. Extensioncordsshouldnotreplace

permanentwiring.

Laundryandcookingequipmentshouldalsobemaintainedonaroutinebasis.

Especiallyimportantistocleanlintscreensindryersandgreaseon/oraround

stovesandrangehoods,asbothprovideaneasilycombustiblefuelsource.

CompressedGas:Storegascylindersinasecurelocationawayfrompatients. Capcylinderswhennot

inuse. Allstaffshouldknowhowtoshutoffoxygenandotherpipedgassystems,if

instructedtodoso.


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Priortoyourprogram,becomefamiliarwithyourfacility'sfireandlifesafetyemergencysystems. Knowwhichofthefollowingyouhave,aswellastheirlocationanduse:

o Manualpullalarmso Smokedetectorso Exitdoors&stairwellso Sprinklerso Fireextinguisherso Firealarmmonitoringserviceo Voicealarmo SelfClosingFiredoors

Commonfireandlifesafetyhazardstowatchforinhealthcarefacilities:o Missingorbrokenfiresafetyequipmento Blockedfiredoorso Accumulatedtrasho Burnedoutexitlights

Itisimportantforeveryhealthcarefacilitytohaveafireandlifesafetyemergencyplan. Awellthoughtoutplanthattakesintoconsiderationtheuniquefeaturesofyourfacilityandits

occupants. Thisplanshouldbeinwriting,andeasilyavailabletoallemployees. Thisincludesthosewhoworkweekendsandoffshifts. Theplanshouldbekeptcurrentthroughperiodic

updating. Forfurtherinformationindevelopingyourownfireandlifesafetyemergencyplan,

contactthePublicEducationOfficeofPortlandFire&Rescue.

WheneveryouneedtheassistanceofPolice,Fire,orEmergencyMedicalPersonnel,youonlyneedtorememberonephonenumber:911.It'simportantforemployeescalling911tobe

abletogivethefollowinginformation:Thenatureoftheproblem,address,nearestcrossstreet,

anyspecificsknown,suchasnoting"thisisahealthcarefacility,locationinsidefacilityof

problem"thirdfloorroom__Westwing." Thecallershouldnothangupuntiltoldtodosoby

the911Operator.

Itisimperativethateveryalarmistreatedasthroughitisarealemergency,eveniftheinitialsourceisunknown. Ifthealarmsounds,orafireissuspected,call911tonotifytheFire

Departmentimmediately. Aftercalling911,ifyoudeterminethatthereisnofire,butrathera

malfunctionofyourequipmentorafalsealarm,call911backandrelaythisinformation.

NeverwaittoinvestigatethesituationbeforenotifyingtheFireDepartment. Anydelaywill

allowafiretogrowandfurtherendangerthebuildingoccupantsandproperty.

DONOTsilencethealarmuntilgivenpermissiontodosobyFireDepartmentpersonnelorbytheemergencyoperator. DONOTresetthealarmuntiltheFireDepartmentarrivesandhas

investigatedthesourceofthealarm. AllfirealarmsaretobeinvestigatedbytheFire

Department.

Closedoors. Byclosingdoors,youhelpprotectoccupantsfromthespreadofsmokeandfire.Doorsshouldbeclosed,notlocked,byemployeeswhenfollowingtheRACEprocedures. Elevatorsshouldneverbeusedbybuildingoccupantsduringafireemergency. Thereasonsare

threefold:

1. Elevatorsoftenfailduringafire,trappingoccupants;2. Elevatorshaftsmayfillwithsmoke;and3. Theelevatorneedstobeavailableforfirefightersincaseofemergencyneeds.


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MosthealthcarefacilitiesusetheacronymRACEasawayforstafftorememberhowtoreactinafireemergency.RACEstandsfor:

o Rescueanyindividualdirectlythreatenedbyfire Patientsafetyistheprimaryconsideration,somovepatientswhoareinimmediatedangerawayfromsmokeor

flames. Placethepatientinanearbyroom,behindacloseddoor.

o Alarm. Activatethefirealarmifyoudiscoverafireorrespondimmediatelytothealarmifyouhearitsound.

o Confinethefirebyclosingdoorstoslowthespreadofsmokeandflame. Closethedoorsofpatient'srooms. Ingeneral,residentsaresaferinaclosedroomthanina

smokefilledhallway.

o Extinguishthefireonlyifthefireissmallandifyouknowhowtooperateafireextinguisher. BesurepatientshavebeenrescuedandtheFireDepartment(911)is

calledbeforeusingthefireextinguisher.

FireCoderequirementsspecifythesize,number,andlocationoffireextinguisherswithinyourfacility.

These

requirements

help

establish

aprotection

level

appropriate

for

the

hazard

class

of

yourbuilding. Makesureyouknowthetypes,sizesandmaintenancerequirementsofyour

extinguishers,aswellasthebasicsofextinguisheroperation.

ThePublicEducationSectionoftheFirePreventionDivisionprovidesassistanceinFire&LifeSafetyEmergencyplanning,aswellasresourcesfortrainingstaffandfacilityresidents. Callthe

PublicEducationOfficeduringbusinesshoursat(503)8233700.

Thankyoufortakingresponsibilityforthesafetyofyour

facilityanditsresidents!


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D i s c u s s i o n Q u e s t i o n s 1. Ifafireoccurredinyourworkplacerightnow,whatwouldyoudo?2. Whatdoyoufeelisthebestfirepreventionactivityyourorganizationconducts?Whatneedstobeimprovedupon?3. Ifyouneededtohelpafriendwhowasjustburned,wouldyouknowwhattodo?4. Howhasyourorganizationpreparedtoassistpeoplewithdisabilitiesinafireemergency?5. Doyoufeelyourfireevacuationplaniswellunderstoodbyeveryoneinyourorganization?

Whatwouldhappenifyouheldafireexitdrillunannounced?


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F i r e E x t i n g u i s h e r s Fireextinguisherssavelivesandpropertybyputtingoutorcontainingsmallfiresuntilthe

firedepartmentarrives. Evenagainstsmallfires,however,extinguishersareusefulonly

undercertain

conditions...

Theoperatormustknowhowtousethem. Thereisnotimetoreadinstructionsduringanemergency.

Theymustbewithineasyreach,inworkingorder,andfullycharged. Theyneedtobekeptneartheexit. Theuserneedstohaveanescaperoutethatwillnotbe

blockedbyfire.

Theyshouldmatchthetypeoffireyouarefighting. Theymustbelargeenoughtoputoutthefire. Mostportableextinguishersdischarge

completelyinasfewaseightseconds.

HOWTOOPERATEANEXTINGUISHERRememberthePASSword!

Beforeusingyourextinguisher,makesureyourbackistoanexitandthatyouarestandingsixtoeight

feetfromthefire.

PULLthepin: Holdtheextinguisherwiththenozzlepointingawayfromyouandpulloutthepinlocatedbelowthehandle. Thisunlockstheoperatingleverandallowsyoutodischargethe

extinguisher. Ifyoucannotpullthepinyoumightbesqueezingthehandletoohardandbindingthe

pin.

AIMatthebaseofthefire: Notattheflames. Thisisimportant inordertoputoutthefire,youmustextinguishthefuel.

SQUEEZEtheleverslowly: Thiswillreleasetheextinguishingagentintheextinguisher. Ifthehandleisreleased,thedischargewillstop.

SWEEPfromsidetoside: Usingasweepingmotion,movethefireextinguisherbackandforthuntilthefireiscompletelyout. Operatetheextinguisherfromasafedistance,severalfeetaway,and

thenmove

towards

the

fire

once

it

starts

to

diminish.

Be

sure

to

read

the

instructions

on

your

fire

extinguisher differentfireextinguishersrecommendoperatingthemfromdifferentdistances.

Remember:Aimatthebaseofthefire,notattheflames!!!!

Alwaysbesurethefiredepartmentinspectsthefiresite,evenifyouthinkyouveextinguishedthefire. Ifthefiregetsbigger,getout! Closethedoortoslowthespreadofthefire.


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ABC'sofFIREEXTINGUISHERS

SelectinganExtinguisher:Fireextinguishersarelabeledwithlettersorpictographstoindicatethekindoffireonwhichthe

extinguisheriseffective.

A OrdinaryCombustibles

Paper,wood,manyplastics,fabric,trash

B FlammableLiquids

Gasoline,oil,grease,somepaintsandsolvents

C Electrical

Energizedelectricalequipmentincludingappliances,computers,circuit

breakers,wiring


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fire safety in healthcare facilities

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