Fire Safety What You Need to Know and Do Joy S. Berger FT, DMA, BCC, MT-BC Director of Education Course Handouts & Post Test To download presentation handouts, click on the attachment icon Course evaluation and post test are available from your course catalog To achieve credit for this course, close the video portion when completed and click on Start Test 1
Course Objectives At the end of this course, participants will be able to: 1. Describe what hospice professionals need to know about fire safety: hazards, prevention, response. 2. Describe how to apply this fire safety information in one s workplace. 3. Describe how to apply this fire safety information with one s hospice/palliative care patients. Click on the attachment icon to download handouts As an adult learner What Do You Already Know? Do? Causes / Hazards for Fire Workplace Prevention and Response Hospice: Why It Matters! Patient /Caregiver Prevention and Response 2
Know: Hazards and Causes Careless smoking Cooking Candles Heating devices Faulty electrical equipment Overloaded outlets Improper use of oxygen Clutter Flammable materials Arson Zoom In to Your Worksite Careless smoking Cooking Candles Heating devices Faulty electrical equipment Overloaded outlets Improper use of oxygen Clutter Flammable materials Arson 3
Know & Do: Written Fire Safety Plan Easily accessible to all employees List all major fire hazards at your worksite(s) Procedures for Prevention and Response Proper handling and storage for hazardous materials Potential ignition sources and their control What equipment? Who is responsible? Fire Alarms, Extinguishers, Evacuation 911 Community Fire Department Accountability: Staff, Visitors Multi-site variables Train and drill staff Zoom Into Your Worksite s Hazards Flammable materials poorly stored Cluttered pathways Unclear exits Untested smoke detectors and fire alarms Kitchen appliances, heaters, overloaded outlets and extension cords, community coffee pot Oven left on overnight Candles, candle warmers Untrained staff and volunteers Tracking site visitors Zoom In to Your Worksite s Prevention Apply this knowledge to your halls and walls and everything in between 4
You Need To Eliminate/reduce hazards Store flammable materials away from heat sources Regularly declutter and clean risk areas Enforce No Smoking rules Enforce appropriate use of appliances, electric cords, etc. Maintain battery and generator supplies for power outages; store in consistent places Update your awareness when you change sites Report any concerns or questions Apply it. Target in. What needs to improve? Know Fire Extinguishers: Types ABC = multipurpose for all fires A = wood, cloth, or paper (anything that will turn to Ash) B = oil, grease, flammable liquid (anything that Boils or Bubbles) C = electrical fires (anything with an electrical Charge) RACE and PASS 5
RACE to Respond to Fire Emergency R - RESCUE Move patients and assist visitors or impaired employees away from immediate danger of fire or smoke A-ALERT OTHERS Activate alarm as soon as possible. Call emergency number, state the location, type of fire and size. Notify co-workers and everybody in the area. C-CONFINE Close all doors and windows. Pack sheets and towels under doors to contain smoke. If there is oxygen in the area: shut off oxygen supply and manually administer oxygen / ventilate. E-EXTINGUISH Select the appropriate fire extinguisher. Do not put yourself in danger fighting a fire! Know & Do: PASS P = Pull the pin A = Aim at base of the fire S = Squeeze the handle S = Sweep from side to side RACE and PASS 6
TEST What can you describe and demonstrate? Location of fire alarms? Extinguishers? Response actions? Evacuation routes? Fire doors to close? Smoke protection? Where to gather? Communications? Community emergency response? Patient and Caregiver What You Need to Know In the Home: Fire Deaths The U.S. Fire Administration of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) reported in 2009 that the two leading causes for fire deaths in residential units (homes, apartments) are: Unintentional, carelessness (often, cooking) Smoking 7
Know Hazards: Higher Risks for Elderly Risk of dying in a fire 2.5 times higher for an older person than a younger person Usually while asleep in bed Often, extensive related injuries, with poorer abilities to recover Is a patient s smoking a quality of life issue? Know: Oxygen = Extreme Hospice Hazard What percentage of your hospice patients use oxygen equipment? You need to know that Oxygen -- while not flammable itself -- supports combustion. Most fires need oxygen to keep burning. Remove the oxygen source and most fires will go out. Oxygen therapy provides a patient with a higher concentration of oxygen (40% to 100%) than the air we naturally breathe (20% oxygen). 8
Know: Oxygen = Extreme Hospice Hazard What percentage of your hospice patients use oxygen equipment? You need to know that Extreme fire hazards with oxygen equipment: Materials ignite easier, burn faster, burn at a higher intensity Grasp: Why it matters for hospice patients and caregivers! Older generations smoking habits Patients confusion and reflexes Caregiver s intense, long vigils Caregiver s early dementia Extreme vulnerability Grasp: Why it matters for hospice patients and caregivers! Accumulated things, fire hazards, poor ambulation Emergency numbers? Fire extinguishers? Hospice equipment and resulting clutter Oxygen machines in unsupervised settings Overloaded electrical outlets Extreme vulnerability 9
Quality of Life Issues Patient and Caregiver What You Need to Do 10
Assess & Educate in the Home Smoking Space heaters Safe cooking No cords under rugs No frayed cords Electric blankets Candles Smoke detectors Home fire extinguishers Fire escape routes Signs for No Smoking Oxygen In Use Other Educate and Prevent Teach patients/caregivers about fire safety in their specific setting Smoke detectors Safe use of oxygen Smoke hazards Fire extinguishers User-friendly phones Emergency numbers 11
Document and Communicate Document any teaching and prevention Review with patient and caregiver Communicate any concerns with IDG, with appropriate follow-up Prevention: Oxygen Don ts DO NOT Do not allow smoking or open flames in any area with an oxygen tank Do not leave the cylinder valve on when not in use Do not use oil-based products, like petroleum jelly or petroleumbased creams or lotions Prevention: Oxygen Don ts DO NOT Do not use flammable products like cleaning fluids, paint thinner, or aerosol sprays while using oxygen Do not use an outlet that is controlled by a light switch Do not overload a power outlet 12
Prevention: Oxygen Do s DO Ensure the patient and family know to not smoke, and why Ensure the oxygen vendor and or family has posted Do Not Smoke signs and enforces with visitors Turn the cylinder valve off when oxygen is not in use Prevention: Oxygen Do s DO Use water-based lubricants, not oil-based products (like petroleumbased jelly, creams or lotions) Store oxygen cylinders upright, in well ventilated areas Encourage cotton fabrics (sheets, clothing) instead of fabrics causing static electricity (wool, nylon, synthetic) Prepare Careproviders to Respond Home Patients: Assist the patient/caregiver with an evacuation plan At hospice residential/ inpatient facilities: Orient families to exits; have periodic drills for staff 13
Patients / Caregivers at Other Facilities: Prepare to Respond Nursing Facilities / Hospitals: Follow the facility s fire safety; know where exits are located CMS s Life Safety Code Requirements provide consistent standards for prevention and response in all patient care settings http://www.cms.gov/certificationand Complianc/11_LSC.asp Know & Do: RACE Fire Safety Summary Know & Do Assess Hazards, Educate, Prevent, and Respond In your workplace With your patients and families Written Procedures Specific to settings and persons Train and drill RACE and PASS 14
Take it Home! Assess Hazards Educate Family Prevent Prepare to Respond Back to work A Surveyor Will Look For Agency-specific written plan and implementation for fire safety Documentation of staff and patient care volunteer training Documentation of patient / caregiver safety assessment, education, prevention, discussion of evacuation plan Put It In Action What I m already doing well: What I need to improve: My personal action plan: 15
Additional Resources Weatherbee Resources, Inc., Policies and Procedures, Safety Fire Fire Statistics, U.S. Fire Administration, http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/ Fire Prevention Plans, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show _document?p_id=12887&p_table=standards Additional Resources CMS s Life Safety Code Requirements for Hospices http://www.cms.gov/certificationandcomplianc/ 11_LSC.asp Home Safety for the Elderly Checklist, provided by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc. http://www.nachi.org/elderlysafety.htm Course Handouts & Post Test Thank you for viewing this course on the Hospice Education Network The Course evaluation and post test are available from your course catalog page To achieve credit for this course, close the video portion when completed and click on Start Test 16
Fire Safety What You Need to Know and Do Joy S. Berger FT, DMA, BCC, MT-BC Director of Education 17