In a nursing home and hospital, there are dozens, sometimes even hundreds of people who are mobile-restricted. The evacuation of these people requires a good preparation and a targeted approach. In this blog, you will find many practical tips.
The evacuation of a care facility or hospital requires more organization than an office building with only mobile workers. The preparation of the patient or the nursing home resident requires time: switching off the ventilators, removing the equipment, getting out of bed, etc. Furthermore, older people and patients tend to move more slowly.
To ensure that the evacuation is efficient in the event of a fire, it is best to practice the possible scenarios regularly. The following tips can help you:
Targeted evacuation
First, you evacuate the people who are in the room where it is burning. People in the adjoining rooms should keep their doors closed. A fireproof door will normally hold back the fire for 30 minutes. Some fire doors – usually located between the corridors – hold back the fire for 60 minutes.
The evacuating staff also keeps the doors closed in the adjacent corridors and floors. So you will be safe until the fire department arrives on site.
Evacuate non-mobile persons
Older and hospital patients are often partially or completely restricted in their mobility. They need help from the nursing staff or other helpers from the evacuation team to get them to a safety area.
You can use a mattress or a blanket to get non-mobile people out of bed. It is often easier to drag them across the floor than to put them in a wheelchair.
You are not allowed to use the lifts in the event of a fire alarm. Avoid stairs as much as possible. If necessary, use an evacuation chair.
Spatial subdivision provides time
Less mobile people should be first taken to a neighboring building (on the same floor), which is equipped with fire doors. You do not have to evacuate them immediately. Thanks to the fire-resistant doors, they are temporarily safe.
Aids for people with disabilities
To facilitate the evacuation of people with disabilities (e.g. with kinds of motor, visual, auditory, cognitive, etc. disorder), you can provide many expedients. Some examples are:
- Easily accessible buttons and switches
- Visual alarms
- Clear and precise signaling
- Tactile marks
- Simple escape routes with continuous handrails
- evacuation chairs
Training can dramatically reduce the time needed to evacuate people with reduced mobility. Organize evacuation exercises annually and repeat procedures on a regular basis (e.g. monthly). This makes it a routine for the employees and you will be able to respond efficiently and correctly, when a fire breaks out.
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