Fire - and Your Hospital

[Applause] [Music] the hospital in each community is known as a haven of hope it is a place where the sick may come with confidence and those who treat them cure them care for them and [Music] trust themselves and their faith to the doctors and surgeons the nurses and orderlies the technicians in the laboratory and in the x-ray room the engineers and the maintenance men the housekeeper and service personnel the superintendent who comprise the administrative staff all are important members of the hospital team they are responsible and to the faith entrusted in them [Music] in spite of all they may strive to do in everyone's good intentions this can happen why and [Music] well it happened because no building is ever completely safe from fire that is especially true of a hospital the hospital combines within its walls fire hazards which are related to a great variety of occupations the fire hazards of a factory the hospital operates heating and power plants workshops many types of machinery wherever those Machinery this might happen the fire hazards of a restaurant larger and busier than many restaurant kitchens watch out for hot fatty cooking wastes but this might happen the fire hazards of the chemical laboratory hospital laboratories are frequently as large as you will find in many industries many liquids be used in the laboratory give up highly flammable fumes use like these stream downwards and spread all over better watch out the fire hazards of commercial laundries hospitals have laundries too bacon busy laundries the hospital might be compared yes to an arsenal as the daily supply of oxygen nitrous oxides represents the explosive power of a good-sized bomb and last but not least our hospital houses a great number of patients visited by numbers of relatives and friends many with dangerous habits you shouldn't have done that there's nothing happened this time so this then is your hospital within its walls so many fire hazards some very basic precautions must be taken should a fire occur in any part of the hospital if left to its own devices it will spread very rapidly to prevent it from spreading horizontally self-closing fire and cutoff doors are installed to act as fire and smoke barriers therefore no matter what part you play on the hospital team see that doors like this one are never obstructed see to it that these doors can do the job they're designed to do fires always tend to spread upwards just like the flame consuming this match that's why open stairways elevator shafts open laundry chutes and dumbwaiters always act as clues always try to pull a fire or gasses and fumes to the upper floors sometimes within seconds for this reason a minor Hospital fire if there is such a thing often turns into a catastrophe a catastrophe which shocks the world to stop fire from spreading all staircases elevator shafts and other vertical openings are enclosed in fire resistant materials so again let's remind ourselves when you see a door to a stairwell open close it close it at once fire now cannot spread upwards through this staircase whatever the reason do not keep elevator doors open and dumbwaiters Hey remember that match how it burned upwards that's right exit doors should never be obstructed never locked though laughs it has happened check the door make sure it's not locked thanks anyway doc exit signs are always illuminated or better should be and you may have automatic sprinklers in your Hospital automatic sprinklers are very efficient firefighters they will give the alarm and at the same time extinguish the fire [Music] make sure the sprinkler valve is never turned off if a valve is turned off this shaft is screwed in words and the valve would appear to you like this you don't see the shaft should any one of you ever discover a turned off sprinkler system report it at once this is such a threat to your Hospital that no time must be lost there are also or should be other firefighting devices in your hospital of course 10 fire extinguishers are familiar objects but how many of you or how few know exactly where they are find out and then memorize the floorplan of your hospital and x marks the spot swear hand extinguishers are located once you know where to find the fire extinguishers in a hurry and in a hurry you'll be when you need them know how to operate them read the instructions study them at once and not when you have to use the extinguisher it'll be too late then this then is your hospital being a hospital it is vulnerable to fire in many ways but it also has many defenses against fire to make these defenses do the best possible job something else is needed what is that something else yes our fire safety program a fire safety program tries to achieve three major goals Good Housekeeping good maintenance good discipline which all add up to saving lives the need for good housekeeping is urgent and ever-present good housekeeping means many things it means for instance that you must get rid of any accumulation of rubbish or debris it means oily rags which give off flammable fumes must be kept in metal containers and even there they should not be allowed to accumulate it means care and precaution whenever you handle flammable liquids keep them and approved self-closing cans paints always store them in metal cabinets Good Housekeeping means careful checking whenever you install partitions or make other structural changes check with your supplier and be sure that only flame resistant materials are used many a wall board you consider flame resistant is apt to fool you and there are other hazards hundreds of them all over the hospital in all departments it is up to you to find them and to eliminate them good maintenance is the second chapter of your fire safety program good maintenance sees to it that nowhere in your hospital will you ever find improperly supported wires such wires will fray easily even electrical fuses when used incorrectly can be dangerous when it is specified on a fuse box that 15 ampere fuses should be used and you insert this fuse a 30 ampere fuse the electrical circuit supposedly protected by this fuse can easily be overloaded and soon there might be a fire good maintenance requires regular and thorough inspection of boilers power plants operating rooms elevator machinery and the many other installations you have on a hospital this then leads us to the third chapter good discipline good discipline concerns itself with people only with you who work in the hospital with the patients who are under your care and their visitors good discipline also is deeply concerned with a certain habit careless smoking causes most fires so be sure that these signs are posted prominently be sure that they are seen read and understood no smoking smoking is prohibited smoking is always forbidden for very good reasons not all however as obvious is this one an ounce of prevention that is the best idea isn't it however because smoking is popular and so helpful it is permitted in some parts of the hospital this ice tray is no good too shallow have suitable ice trays deep ashtrays of which there are many types and speaking of ice trays remember yes nothing happened this time are you sure it is much later now and our patient is fast asleep when fire is discovered there are definite and specific actions which must follow immediately first if the patient is within immediate danger of smoke or flame he or she must be moved to a safer area second once the patient is out the door this is very important [Music] board operator at once and as calm a voice as possible so as not to alarm any patients who may overhear port the exact location and the extent of the fire attempt to put out the fire with hand extinct meanwhile the switchboard operator immediately notifies the fire department she then calls the nurses and interns quarters the hospital superintendent the chief engineer and others usually a code signal spread over the public address system or by bells will alert these and all others without alarming the patient's the duty fire brigade composed of trained hospital personnel arrives to fight the fire until the City Fire Department can take charge the hospital superintendent also hurries to the scene to evaluate the situation and at once establishes communications with the rest of the hospital through the switchboard [Music] while the fire is being fought locally every department in the hospital responds with the condition of readiness in case the fire gets out of control the engineering department stands ready to isolate the threatened area by cutting off ventilation gas refrigeration or oxygen all nurses report on the double to their duty stations to await instructions for removal of patients if the danger continues [Music] personnel standby to distribute blankets and bathrobes clinical personnel standby to administer emergency first aid orderlies and janitors close all windows doors and dumbwaiters and threaten floor area see the cutoff doors are closed that exit doors are not blocked [Music] while all these precautions are being taken other personnel not so engaged at ascent prepared for any special duty which may be assigned by the superintendent or whoever is in charge [Music] constant communication with the firefighting detail and all departments of the hospital is maintained sure the telephone service be interrupted messengers from the employee pool maintain the vital lines of communication well an extremely dangerous incident has been brought to a conclusion to a happy conclusion it is the result of careful planning and foresight in short it is the result of an efficient fire safety program in developing such a fire safety program all departments should be consulted and individual responsibility is clearly assigned representatives of your local fire department and literature from agencies who have made fire protection their business will provide you with expert guidance and advice the organization and continuous training of hospital Fire Brigades one for each shift is a vital step in fire control here also consultation with a specialist is indicated and the specialist in this case is the professional fireman an expert who is eager to help and well trained to fight fire to assist the city firemen to become familiar with the building and grounds layout they should be invited to visit the hospital and tour its premises such familiarity will save priceless minutes in an emergency the final responsibilities matter of coordinating the fire safety program should be vested with one individual to be called the hospital Fire Marshal in many hospitals this assignment is rotated among the various departments in order that all may share the common responsibilities the final objective of any fire safety program of course is to save lives if the fire which started this way had gotten out of control the fire marshal would have been forced to give the order for evacuation it might have been a limited evacuation or a total evacuation be prepared for either the type of evacuation will depend upon the location of the fire and its progress first all patients and immediate danger are moved to a place of temporary safety towards stairways or fire escapes patients in other parts of the floor as well as patients and floors above are prepared for similar evacuation then should it be necessary the patient's can safely be taken downstairs and let out of the hospital in addition to knowing where to evacuate patients every employee must know how to evacuate them babies require the greatest care they should be individually wrapped in blankets to protect them from smoke or exposure a reserve of oxygen must go along when incubator babies are being evacuated [Music] nurses must stay with these little charges all the time [Music] other patients are evacuated according to their physical condition ambulatory patients after making certain that all are accounted for a responsible person leads them to safety according to the prepared evacuation plan always remember Keep Calm keep them calm and don't count on using any elevator which is close to the fire [Music] then there are the helpless patients quietly and assuredly so as not to create panic move away from the fire if wheelchairs or stretchers are not available and sufficient number these patients securely wrapped in their Betty may be placed on the floor and [Music] also an ingenious method called nurses carry by which one nurse unaided can carry a heavy patient to safety [Music] helpless patients may be transferred to litters for evacuation downstairs should there not be enough litters you would have to carry them additional help from the employee pool may be needed then well this then is the story of fire prevention in hospitals but it also is your story it is your enthusiasm your team spirit [Music] by a fire safety program conceived by you and tailored to the specific needs of your hospital which will bring fire safety to you those who have faith in