Res Care - To Call or Not To Call

[stevew5]

A number of fire authorities have for several years encouraged owners to check for the an unconfirmed fire before placing the emergency call.  The background to this is based upon the need to reduce the number of false alarms.attended.

A recent shift from one authority advised my client to contact their insurance company for the final decision.  The answer was to place the call on EVERY occassion.  No strong views either way however risk assessment would have a major part to play in the decision.  Anyone with a view or experience?

[Dave]

The following report into the Rosepark care-home fire is enough evidence for me that a call should be made on every occasion, as soon as an alarm is actuated. I don't know how the fire service was alerted to the fire, but if the call had not gone in until the staff found the fire, then there would have been an unacceptable delay in that call being made.



A LEADING investigator in the Rosepark care-home fire yesterday confirmed the blaze which killed 14 elderly residents on 31 January was caused by an electrical fault.

Chief Superintendent Tom Buchan said that although investigators were convinced an electrical problem was to blame, it was not yet clear how the fault occurred.

Investigations are focusing on the wiring to a fuse box inside a cupboard which had been used to store linens, hot water bottles, books and games.

A source close to the investigation also said the Lanarkshire home’s fire-alarm system had been verified as working correctly at the time of the blaze. The source said: "The alarm system was working properly and it may be that the first indication of the fire was in a more sensitive area and picked up quicker than elsewhere. No-one knows the direction of the heat of the fire at that time."

Mr Buchan said the electrical malfunction occurred in a store cupboard in the corridor where the victims slept, some with their doors left open.

Ten of the residents died from smoke inhalation as they lay asleep and four others, also overcome by smoke, died in hospital within two days.

Isabel Queen, the nurse in charge of Rosepark on the night of the fire, had said that when the alarm went off, the fire board indicated it was located in an area near the ground floor main entrance. However, there was no fire there and after checking rooms nearby, she returned to turn the alarm off.

It immediately sounded again, this time indicating the other end of the building - on the same level. On arriving there, Ms Queen and a colleague were beaten back by dense smoke in the corridor where the cupboard was on fire.

[stevew5]

Thanks for your comments Dave

I omitted one point from my initial message.  I always advise my clients to place the emergency call immediately when staffing levels are reduced for night cover.
There are clients who, due to any number of reasons identified in a risk assessment
I would advise to place the call on every occassion

I am happy however, to advise selected clients to operate a routine of checking an unconfirmed fire during the day.  In each case a vital factor is an effective training programme for all staff.

You refer to the fire in South Lanarkshire.  What concerns me about that particular incident is whether or not anyone will be prosecuted by the authorities.  I am convinced that the death toll would have been significantly reduced if all persons responsible for the safe running of the premises had taken all reasonable measures (before the fire).  You mention that the second alarm indicated a fire on the ground floor and this was where the staff were beaten back by the smoke..  My understanding was that the second alarm indicated the first floor, and this was location of the fire and where the fatalities occurred.


I have deliberately chosen my words carefully.  Having been involved in residential care fire safety for some thirty years both as a fire safety inspector and now as consultant I believe that further such incidents are inevitable.

[Dave]

stevew5

What I quoted above was a newspaper report just after the fire, before all of the facts were known.

After your reply I investigated it a bit more and I came up with something which surprised me.  Reports stated that the fire brigade was at the scene within 5 minutes. From this I had assumed that the call had been made by staff as soon as the alarm had actuated, or the system was linked to a third party who placed the call.

However the following report has indicated to me that the call was made by the Duty Nurse in Charge, ‘after’ she had found the fire.  It would then seem that the brigade were in attendance within 5 minutes of 'receiving the call'.  If this is the case, then in my opinion, the delay in calling the brigade is unacceptable.


The following report is from The Times


"Care home nurse tells of fire rescue battle

A NURSE described yesterday how care home staff battled through dense, choking smoke to try to reach elderly residents trapped in their upstairs bedrooms by fire.
Isabel Queen, 26, was in charge of Rosepark Care Home, in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, on Saturday when a blaze broke out in a linen cupboard on the first floor in the early hours of the morning, claiming 12 lives.

Ten of the victims, in their 80s and 90s, are believed to have died from smoke inhalation within minutes of the alarm being raised at 4.37am and before rescuers had a chance to reach them. The first fire engine was at the scene within five minutes but by then it was too late. Two more residents lost their fight for life in hospital yesterday.

Mrs Queen said that at first the fire alarm indicated a blaze on the ground floor and staff wasted precious minutes trying to locate it before discovering the mistake. “There was smoke everywhere. It was extremely difficult. We put pads over our faces and pushed open a fire door to let us into the corridor. We could not see, we could not breath,” she said.

“We took three steps in front of us. We were coughing so much we had to turn back.” She phoned the fire brigade while her male colleague ran round the building and tried without success to enter the corridor from the other side.

She said they realised then there was nothing they could do to save those trapped on the first floor until firefighters arrived with breathing apparatus. “We did all we could to get them out, but it was just not possible,” she said. The four staff on duty then began evacuating the other confused and frightened elderly residents."

[GL]

I think that any sensible answer to the original post would be along the lines that any delay in a call to the Fire Service is not acceptable. If nothing else a delay usually means a larger or more difficult fire to deal with and therefore can increase the risk to firefighters even to an empty building. Clearly in a building such as this it raises even greater arguments As far as the delay in the call to this particular building is concerned we will have to (and should) wait for the published report. I think it will raise far greater issues than the call to Fire Service, important though it is.

[colin todd]

I agree, GL (and hence you may retain your honourary Scottish citizenship). However, where staff levels at night are bit dodgy in res care, there is a strong case for an ARC connection as a back up. I think that this is important where there is any doubt about the reliability of an early call by staff in res care and hospitals.This whole issue does, of course, raise the issue of some of the ''go it alone' policies of some fire brigades that require occupants to investigate before they are wiling to turn out to a fire alarm actuating call from the occupier.

[afterburner]

The 'go it alone' policies of fire and rescue services in call challenging and alarm invetigation is driven by the need to reduce fire calls which is translated in mobilisation of appliances. Along with the need to reduce calls, the mobilistaions are being reduced by the simple expedient of reducing the number of responding appliances. The days of the cavalry charge are numbered. Brigades which are seen to be successful in reducing calls / mobilsations will become the aspirational model for others. This trend is ongoing and patchy at the moment but will gather pace. Don't hesitate, call and wait for your one pump.

[dave bev]

get out, stay out, get us out!

or have we been lying to the communities we serve all these years?  

interesting that we dont see this message that often anymore, there is a reward for anyone who makes a sighting of this message on any NEW 'bumpf'

simply attach the bumpf to a postcard or stuck down envelope and forward to your nearest fire and rescue service integrated risk management planning department and ask for confirmation, oh and at the same time you may want to ask if they would send someone if you actually followed the advice previously issued

a little task for all you 'bumpf lookers' out there!

[wee brian]

I think you will find it hard to find because its not very accurate.
If everybody left their buidlings and called the fire service at the first sign of a flame then the brigade would collapse under the strain.

A recent stat I heard was that more fires in hospitals are extinguished by Nurses than by Firefighters.

[colin todd]

Mr Burner,  I was not talking about the 1 pump response; I was talking about go and investigate and then call us if there is a fire policies of brigades like Somerset and Oxon. Sadly, in some areas of the country  its not a case of get out, stay out, etc, when the fire alarm actuates. It seems that there is a danger that ''we are coming out'' is limited to a statement by Davey's lot, rather than the FCO.

[dave bev]

wee b, colin et al

a recent stat i heard was that nicholas girls should not ride bicycles, i dont know why he shouldnt but i heard it so it must be true


seriously wee b - i would not be surprised at all, and thats exactly what any sane person would expect.

my personal opinion (and you may realise why i have to say that) is that checking where it is safe to do so isnt a problem, so long as there is a laid down procedure for doing so, with 'fail safe' measures built into the process. i think some may call it appreciation of risk

cavalry charges are actually responses based on weight and speed of attack - and in todays new world that process and principle still has a place!