New Options for Hospital Fire Safety

To fight the five fires a day and more than 8,000 per year that occur in our nation’s health care facilities, a number of new fire fighting techniques are in use, according to a recent article in the Occupational Health & Safety magazine (YEAR).

Clean agent portable fire extinguishers are being seen as an alternative to fire blankets and the Halon 1211 extinguisher in patient care areas. “Our research shows that fire blankets are not completely successful in smothering an oxygen fire,” says Ron Long, director of facilities services at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix. “You don’t want to use an ABC extinguisher with a patient that has an open incision, and sterile water concerns me because of all the electrical equipment that may be attached to a patient. Therefore, the clean agent fire extinguishers are truly the best way to handle fires in a hospital setting.”

Hospitals that phase out the use of Halon 1211 must train all employees to use the new equipment. “We are hands on and train every department in our facility,” Long says. “Our goal is to make sure everyone is trained and everyone is safe.”