HomeMy WebLinkAboutSurvey shows fires in hospitals follow public building pattern 1977 evA/te_
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Survey Shows Fires in Hospitals
Follow Public Budding Pattern
Whenever a fire occurs in a hospital o related facility no matter how
serious it may or may not seem, it should considered of a major nature.
Fortunately, very few hospital fires are allowed to become serious.
A recent check of responsible parties in 75 Massachusetts hospitals
came up with the following statistics:
• A major percentage of fires that occur in hospitals are not report-
ed, so never become statistics.
• Present programs for fire prevention in many hospitals are not
as effective as they are believed to be.
• Many of those within the hospital environment do not have the
knowledge required to formulate fire prevention guidelines.
• Available educational- training aids for fire prevention programs
do not apply to the true nature of the hospital fire problem.
It me s ene al for other buildings l that are open follow
tothe
the same g
public, such as:
1. Careless use of smoking materials.
2. Patient's visitors were often responsible for unexpected situations,
being unfamiliar with areas where specific controls are required.
3. Workmen, not employees of the hospital, contributed heavily to
fires caused by smoking. ar
4. Nurses' lounges were found to be common areas for the waste-
basket -type fires.
Some interesting observations of the 75 hospitals surveyed included
those listed below :
1. The majority did not know exactly how much they spent for fire
insurance.
2. Most hospitals react toward filing claims for fire loss as if they
were self insured.
3. Most hospitals do not maintain records of fire incidents.
4., None of the hospitals kept a record of the areas or employees in-
volved in fire drills.
5. None of the hospitals maintain a checklist or record of fire pre-
vention inspections.
6. Only 9 per cent conduct periodic fire prevention inspections.
7. None conducted a critique after fire situations to determine actions
necessary to prevent reoccurrence.