RANDY BENSON CONSULTANT HEALTHCARE QUALITY SERVICE How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy

Walk Through:  What Does the Fire Marshal See When Touring the Building Service/Maintenance  What Records Does the Fire Marshal Expect to See Staff Education  What Does the Fire Marshal Expect Staff to Know About Fire Safety

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Fire Marshal Inspections Use the NFPA 2000 Standards For Healthcare Facility Inspections The Fire Marshal is Very Interested in Engineering Controls That Make the Facility Fire Safe The Fire Marshal Can Impose Fines for Failure to Correct Deficiencies Fire Marshal Follow-up on Citations is Weak (due to a lack of staff)

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Walk Through  Starts At the Front Lobby and Looks For General Cleanliness  Looks For Two Visible Fire Exit Signs At All Times  Fire Doors Close and Latch Properly  Closed Fire Doors Do Not Have Too Big a Gap At the Bottom of the Doors (Nickel Rule)  No Flammable Material Hanging On Any Fire Door (Decorations, Isolation PPE, Signage, etc).  Currently Inspected Fire Extinguishers

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Walk Through (cont.)  Unauthorized Equipment in Fire Evacuation Route Corridors  Fire Exits Are Blocked  Anything Hanging From a Sprinkler Head  Missing Ceiling Tiles  Penetrations of Fire Walls  Exit Signs With Burned Out Bulbs  Stairwells Without Emergency (Battery Backup) Lighting  Oversized Shreddable Paper Bins

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Walk Through (cont.)  Flammable Material Not Stored In an Appropriate Location  Proper Fire Suppression System in Kitchen Hood  18 and 24 Inch Rules  Clear Fire Evacuation Routes On Outside of Building  Sprinkler Head Escutcheons Missing  Proper Fire Extinguishers For Needed Applications (Dry Chemical vs. Water, Halon vs. Dry Chemical)  Extension Cords or Overloaded Power Strips  No Equipment Setting In Front of Breaker Boxes

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Service/Maintenance Records  Complete Fire Suppression System Inspections in Appropriate Timeframes  Generator Runs (Start Up and Under Load)  All Fire Safety Issues Go To Safety Committee or QI Committee and Eventually Get To Administration and Board  Cleaning and Inspection of Kitchen Hood and Fire Suppression System  Properly Conducted Fire Drills With Evaluations By All Departments

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Service/Maintenance Records (cont.)  Annual Fire Extinguisher Inspection and Recharge  Inventory of Flammable Materials, Volumes and Locations  Up To Date Fire Response Plan

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Staff Education  Completion of Generic Fire Safety Education (100% Compliance  Completion of Department Specific Fire Safety Education (100% Compliance)  Demonstrated Knowledge of Two Evacuation Routes Out of Their Work Area (Verbal)  Demonstrated Knowledge of Proper Use Of a Fire Extinguisher (Verbal)  Nursing Staff Have Drilled Evacuation Techniques for Removing Patients From a Fire Scene

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Staff Education (cont.)  Demonstrated Knowledge Of What To Do If Staff Find a Fire (RACE) (Verbal)  Demonstrated Knowledge Of Location Of Fire Pulls In Their Work Area (Verbal)  Demonstrated Knowledge of Meaning Of “Defend In Place” (Verbal)

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Notes:  Fire Evacuation Maps  Shreddable Paper Bin Size  Recycling Material Storage (Cardboard)  Flammable Material Piled Up Alongside Buildings (Pallets, etc.)  Fire Doors Don’t Close and Latch Properly  Disaster/Emergency Response System Preparedness (Fire Response) Evacuations, Inter-local Agreements

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy QUESTIONS?

How To Keep The Fire Marshal Happy Randy Benson, Ph.D. Consultant Healthcare Quality Service Washington Hospital Services