Fire Safety Plan

PLANNING FOR A FIRE EMERGENCY

Be Able to Evacuate Your Patients and Residents Quickly and Safely

All apartments and homes must have stairway exits that are clearly marked with signs that are lit up so that all can see them. Caregivers must tell patients and residents to use the stairs and NOT the elevator if a fire starts in the area and they have to be moved to another floor of the building or home for safety. Everyone must use the stairs.

If a patient or resident cannot walk down the stairs, the caregiver and other health care providers or a fireman must carry them down the stairs or gently slide the person down the stairs so that they can leave when they are in danger.

Know and Practice Your Fire Response Plan.

All health care providers must know how to respond to fires and other emergencies. All hospitals and nursing homes have a fire safety plan. If a fire starts we must all follow the plan.

It is also helpful to teach our patients and residents about fire safety and the proper response if a fire starts. They should know:

How to leave their room and area. Patients and residents must be shown the escape route. They must also be told to use the stairs and NOT the elevator.

They will also have to know what to do if a fire is blocking the door way of their room. If a fire is blocking their room they should shut the door to keep the fire out. They should also put a towel or blanket at the bottom of the door to keep the smoke out of their room. It is also a good idea to yell for help or signal for help at the window.

If a fire alarm sounds and the patient or resident is in their room with the door closed, they should be told to feel the door BEFORE opening it. They should not open the door if it feels hot. A hot door means that the fire is just on the other side of the door. Opening the door will spread the flames and smoke into the person’s room. If the door is hot, the patient or resident should put a towel or blanket at the bottom of the door to keep the smoke out of their room and signal or call for help at their window.

Caregivers should practice fire drills often to make sure that they know and are able to follow the fire plan and escape. Practice makes perfect escapes. Practice saves lives!!!

Caregivers must also know how to:

• use a fire extinguisher
• use the fire alarm
• evacuate patients and residents
• call the fire department

WHAT YOU MUST DO IF A ROOM IS FILLED WITH SMOKE:

GET LOW AND GO if you are in a room is filled with smoke.

• Yell FIRE and R-A-C-E! Immediately begin the fire plan.
• Instruct your residents and patients to stay low and crawl to the door. Smoke fills a room from the ceiling down. The safest air is near the floor
• Instruct them to touch the exit door with the back of their hand to check whether or not it is hot.
• If the door is hot, tell them NOT open it. Go to another exit. If that door is cool, open it slowly and leave the area.
• If an exit is unsafe to use, the patient or resident should shut the room’s door and block off the bottom of the door with a towel or blanket.
• They should be taught to cover their nose and mouth with a wet cloth and to yell for help. They should yell or signal from a window if they can.
• If there is a phone in their room, they should call 911 and tell the fire department where they are blocked in with smoke and a hot door.

HOW CAN I HELP A PATIENT WHEN THEIR CLOTHES ARE ON FIRE?

STOP, DROP & ROLL.

If a person’s clothes catch fire, tell them to STOP and NOT run. Tell them to lay down on the floor and cover their face with their hands. They should be told to then roll over and over to smother the flames. The nursing assistant should also cover the person with a blanket or another item to put out the flames.

Do not fan a fire with your hands. This will only make the fire worse!