Planning Considerations
One of the primary considerations in preventing hospital fires is to prohibit the use of combustible structural (e.g., floors, walls, roofs, stairwells, fire escapes) and nonstructural (e.g., doors, windows, ceilings, fixtures, facade, insulation, mechanical and electrical conduits) components in the hospital facility.
New facilities should be designed using building codes and guidelines for fire prevention, and the materials used should have adequate fire resistance ratings. (These ratings refer to the duration, usually in hours, that a given material can withstand fire at a specific maximum temperature before losing its integrity, including its strength and insulation capabilities.) In the case of both structural and nonstructural components, fire resistance ratings/durations can vary from 30 minutes to more than 4 hours.
Real-Life Hospital Fires
May 1929: Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA-125 Fatalities
The fire started in the clinic's basement, caused by improper storage and ventilation of 70,000 sheets of X-ray films. Toxic fumes from burnt film spread rapidly throughout the hospital's vents. Although no one died directly from the fire, people died as a result of the toxic fumes released.
July 2005: Calderón Guardia Hospital, San José, Costa Rica-19 Fatalities
This 62-year-old hospital is one of the busiest in San Jose. The fire started on the fifth floor; patients in the neurosurgery ward and the intensive care unit (ICU) were trapped. Fire escapes extended only to the third floor. Patients tied bedsheets together and used them as ropes to climb out of the windows. The fire alarm did not signal that there was a fire; also, the facility had no evacuation plan and had insufficient signage and lighting.
December 2011: AMRI Hospital, Kolkata, India-91 Fatalities
The fire in this private hospital started in the basement, where highly flammable medical equipment was illegally stored. Hospital staff abandoned the hospital when the fire started and did not try to rescue any patients. The fire service arrived 90 minutes after the start of the fire. Windows and doors were locked; windows had to be broken to gain access. Most deaths were a result of smoke inhalation.
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1-11. What is the primary consideration in preventing hospital fires?
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