Healthcare facilities must take special note to fire safety in order to keep all patients and employees safe.
When you’re operating a healthcare facility, safety is of the utmost importance. Along with ensuring that your patients have high-quality care and are safe from accidents, you must also consider your fire safety. In healthcare facilities, where there are patients with limited to no mobility, ensuring that fires never start is critical. Staying alert and having well planned and trained protocols are critical to ensuring your healthcare facility is a safe place for everyone inside.
Keep Kitchens Monitored
Studies show that in healthcare facilities, as in most homes, the most common origin for a fire is the kitchen. In most cases of healthcare facility fires, they start at mealtimes, or just as the kitchen starts up for the day. Fortunately, most of these fires are contained to the kitchen as staff were trained in how to react and quickly put out the flames. Ensure your kitchen is safe by completing a safety review and providing regular safety training for all staff.
Check Outlets And Wires
In healthcare facilities, there are often a surplus of electrical wires and outlets. With this comes the risk of electrical fires, which often are quick to spread and far harder to contain than a kitchen fire. To reduce the risk, regularly check each electrical outlet and cord in use. Never use a cord with a frayed or cracked wire, and always ensure that cords are kept out of the way of rolling carts, feet, and other equipment.
Train to Operate And Inspect Extinguishers
Having extinguishers accessible and out for use is critical to fire safety in any environment, but if your staff is not trained on how to use them, they are not very effective. Part of your regular safety training should always include a refresher course on how to use and check your extinguishers.
Never Mix Oxygen And Smoking
When there is pure oxygen, the risk for faster, quicker, and hotter fires is higher. This is why it’s critical that you prevent smoking when oxygen is in use. If a smoking area is necessary, be sure that it is far away from the facility and any oxygen sources and that you have deep non-tip ashtrays.
Have An Action Plan
The best way to prevent fire damage, and to ensure speedy action in the case of a fire, is to have a well developed and practiced fire emergency plan. When developing a fire plan, you must take into account the risks and needs of every department in your facility. Having input from everyone is especially important when considering that there may be the need to move and transport many patients who may not be able to move themselves.
Commercial and Residential Fire Prevention from Judd Fire Protection
If you want to ensure your home and business are safe throughout the year, trust Judd Fire Protection, LLC. We have over two decades of experience in designing, installing, inspecting, and repairing residential and commercial fire protection systems. We serve clients throughout Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. If you are interested in finding out more about our services and protecting your home and business, give us a call at 410-871-3480 or contact us online. For more fire safety tips, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.