Responding to fire in an intensive care unit: Management and lessons learned

Major Hospital Fire in Saint Lucia

“…It is a reasonable expectation that staff will activate a coordinated response to a fire if the disaster response plan is known and rehearsed in regular fire drills. [5][6][7] Staff should be trained on fire suppression, use of fire extinguishers, evacuation protocols, and individual roles in an evacuation. This empowers hospital staff so that they are prepared for a calm and orderly response under duress.…”

“…The primary goal when a hospital fire erupts is not to evacuate patients. 5,6 Fire suppression is the immediate priority so that medical care is disrupted as little as is safely possible. Early detection systems were lacking at the SJH and an alert was only raised when bystanders noticed flames.…”

“…Suppression aides, summarized in Table 1, should be made available and regularly maintained. [5][6][7] Fire Evacuation Evacuation is considered a last resort because the unstable condition of hospital patients may present a threat to their well-being. 5,6 Evacuations should only be done when suppression fails and the fire threat is greater than an uncontrolled evacuation.…”

“…[5][6][7] Fire Evacuation Evacuation is considered a last resort because the unstable condition of hospital patients may present a threat to their well-being. 5,6 Evacuations should only be done when suppression fails and the fire threat is greater than an uncontrolled evacuation. 5,6 In its position document, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO; Washington, DC USA) 5 described four evacuation tiers that varied depending on the threat level, summarized in Table 2.…”

Response to a Fire Incident in the Operation Room: A Cautionary Tale

“…2 The situation becomes more arduous and exigent to manage if critical care areas such as intensive care units and operating rooms (OR) are involved, as critically ill patients are housed there and it is difficult to move such acutely ill patients on an immediate basis. 3 Fire incidents are generally man-made disasters in health care organizations. As health care organizations use different types of electrical equipment, inflammable liquids, and medical gases, often at a single point of use, any sort of error can spark a fire.…”