1. Fire/Electrical Safety Community-Wide Student Orientation
Hello and Welcome to the fire and electrical safety portion of your community wide student orientation. The objective of this inservice is to provide you with a basic understanding of safety issues with fire and electricity related to the hospital setting and what your role is.

2. Chemistry of Fire Fire burns because there are three elements present...
Fuel
Heat
Oxygen
For fire to burn, it requires three elements, fuel, heat, and oxygen. If one of these elements is missing then fire will not burn. Many laws and policies have been implemented to ensure the safety of patients in relation to fires and fire hazards. One of these laws was that all healthcare facilities are non-smoking. Healthcare facilities normally have a ready supply of oxygen and numerous combustibles. By removing a common source of heat for a fire (the lit cigarette) a major player in the big three is missing.
But there are other sources of heat for fires and this requires the healthcare facility to have a plan of action in the event that all three elements collide.
By removing any one element a fire can not occur, or a fire will not be able to sustain combustion.

3. Fire Prevention Practices...
Keep passage ways and exits clear
Ensure fire extinguishers and fire alarm pull stations are accessible at all times
Place trash in proper receptacles
Ensure that fire doors are not blocked open
Part of the plan is based on preparation for a fire. You should always know the location of fire extinguishers and exits and make sure they are accessible. While you are in our facilities, you are not a bystander, you can move equipment blocking doors and exits and report problems to your preceptor or the charge nurse. Patient safety is everyone's responsibility.

4. Plan for Fire Emergencies...
Read & understand the fire evacuation plan for your area
Know the location of at least two (2) emergency exits
Know the location of fire alarm pull stations and fire extinguishers
Take part in fire drills
Have you ever stayed at a hotel? If so. did you ever take the time to look at the evacuation plan posted on the inside of the room door? Think about the following, you are in a new city for a conference. It is 3am and you are awakened from a sound sleep to hear this loud whistling sound or horn blaring. As you begin to wake up you smell smoke and suddenly you are no longer sleepy. You run to the door, feel it for heat and open it. The hallway is full of thick black smoke, and it invades your room and your lungs, choking you. You fall to the floor and start to crawl forward looking for the exit signs. Only you can not see them and you do not know where the stairs are. And you think to your self your alarm rings and you wake up, it was only a dream. But it could happen. Always be prepared, know your role in the event of a facility fire and take an active part.

5. Plan for Fire Emergencies...
Have you ever stayed at a hotel and taken the time to look at the evacuation plan posted on the inside of the room door?
Think about the following, you’re awakened at 3am from a sound sleep to hear this loud whistling sound or horn blaring. As you begin to wake up you smell smoke and suddenly you are no longer sleepy.
Have you ever stayed at a hotel? If so. did you ever take the time to look at the evacuation plan posted on the inside of the room door? Think about the following, you are in a new city for a conference. It is 3am and you are awakened from a sound sleep to hear this loud whistling sound or horn blaring. As you begin to wake up you smell smoke and suddenly you are no longer sleepy. You run to the door, feel it for heat and open it. The hallway is full of thick black smoke, and it invades your room and your lungs, choking you. You fall to the floor and start to crawl forward looking for the exit signs. Only you can not see them and you do not know where the stairs are. And you think to your self your alarm rings and you wake up, it was only a dream. But it could happen. Always be prepared, know your role in the event of a facility fire and take an active part.

6. Plan for Fire Emergencies...
You run to the door, feel it for heat and open it. The hallway is full of thick black smoke, and it invades your room and your lungs, choking you. You fall to the floor and start to crawl forward looking for the exit signs. Only you can not see them and you do not know where the stairs are. And you think to your self your alarm rings and you wake up, it was only a dream. But it could happen. Always be prepared, know your role in the event of a facility fire and take an active part.
Have you ever stayed at a hotel? If so. did you ever take the time to look at the evacuation plan posted on the inside of the room door? Think about the following, you are in a new city for a conference. It is 3am and you are awakened from a sound sleep to hear this loud whistling sound or horn blaring. As you begin to wake up you smell smoke and suddenly you are no longer sleepy. You run to the door, feel it for heat and open it. The hallway is full of thick black smoke, and it invades your room and your lungs, choking you. You fall to the floor and start to crawl forward looking for the exit signs. Only you can not see them and you do not know where the stairs are. And you think to your self your alarm rings and you wake up, it was only a dream. But it could happen. Always be prepared, know your role in the event of a facility fire and take an active part.

7. In Case of Fire...
Remain calm. Don’t panic or cause confusion. NEVER shout fire.
Proceed safely to nearest fire exit
Feel surfaces of doors before opening
Crawl to exit if smoke is present in area
Follow instructions of Fire Department
Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
Remember to stay calm, the patients will look to the staff and you to know what is going on. If you remain calm they will be less likely to break into hysterics. It will be all about your bearing and demeanor in an emergency situation.

8. R.A.C.E. for Fire Safety... Rescue anyone in immediate danger.
Activate the fire alarm pull station
Contain the fire
Extinguish the fire, if your safety can be assured
Remember RACE but also know that the E may be for extinguish or evacuate. Do not try to extinguish a fire that is more than you can easily contain, that is what the professionals are for.

9. P.A.S.S. for Fire Extinguisher Use...
Pull the pin
Aim at base of the fire
Squeeze the handles together
Sweep from side to side
For fire extinguishers, the pin needs to be pulled to be able to activate the handle. If you are holding the fire extinguisher by the handle you are pressing the handle against the pin and it will be “pinned “ in place. Place the fire extinguisher on the ground, steady it from the top and pull the pin. After the pin is freed, lift the fire extinguisher and go through the steps of P.A.S.S.

10. Classes of Fire
Combustible Metals
Ordinary Combustibles
Flammable Liquids
Involving Electricity
Fire extinguishers come in different classes which match the different classes of fires. Due to the multiple combustibles in the healthcare environment, they utilize a multiclass fire extinguisher, or what is termed an ABC class extinguisher. This fire extinguisher may be utilized on all classes of fire and takes the guess work out of which on to use on what combustible element
The most common fire extinguisher used in healthcare is multiclass, or what is termed an ABC class extinguisher.

11. Fire Drills... Conducted every quarter on every shift in Hospital
Respond immediately as if actual fire. Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
All corridor fire doors are connected to fire alarm & detection system and will close automatically once activated
Like was mentioned before, actively participate in fire drills, use them as a learning experience. Assist with pulling doors shut and ensuring patients and visitors remain in their rooms. The corridor fire doors and the room doors are all rated for a particular time frame that it will take a fire to burn through them. This is why it is important to ensure that the fire doors in the corridors are free to close and that patients and visitors remain in their rooms with the doors closed. This provides them an added barrier between them and the fire, and also greater time for the fire department to respond and contain without loss of life.

12. Fire Drills...
Fire doors are designed to withstand fire, heat and smoke for a period of 20-minutes to 3 hours.
Did you know that corridor doors are fire doors and should have a 20 minute rating?
Corridor laboratory doors should have a 60 minute rating.
Fire Doors are required to:
Be Self Closing: fire doors should have a door closure that pulls doors completely shut after the door has been opened
Have Positive latching: a positive latch locks a door in place so can open swing open freely.
Like was mentioned before, actively participate in fire drills, use them as a learning experience. Assist with pulling doors shut and ensuring patients and visitors remain in their rooms. The corridor fire doors and the room doors are all rated for a particular time frame that it will take a fire to burn through them. This is why it is important to ensure that the fire doors in the corridors are free to close and that patients and visitors remain in their rooms with the doors closed. This provides them an added barrier between them and the fire, and also greater time for the fire department to respond and contain without loss of life.

13. No Smoking Policy...
Smoking by anyone, which includes patients, visitors, medical staff, associates, and visitors is prohibited inside the buildings.

14. Electrical Safety Briefing

15. What is Electricity?
A medium that provides a very convenient means for transferring energy from one place to another
Correctly used, electricity is our most versatile form of energy
Control of most electrical hazards is neither difficult or expensive, but ignoring them can cause serious consequences
Electricity is one of those things we usually take for granted. We flip a switch and the lights come on, set the timer and our popcorn pops. We rarely think about the dangers and need for safety other than ensuring our kids do not stick forks in outlets. But there are other hazards and they are easy to remember with a little common sense.

16. Characteristics of Electricity...
Electricity has most of the characteristics of water, in that it flows and has a current that can be measured

17. Electrical Faults Result in Shock, Burns or Fire...
Flow of Current
Occurs when a person or conducting object bridges gap between live conductors and ground or between live conductors. This action causes current to flow.
This is the reasoning behind birds on high voltage wires and why they do not fry. Since the bird is only on the wire there is no conduction between ground or other live conductors. However, if I go to trim my trees and touch the wires or place my ladder on the wires, I have bridged the gap between the live conductor and the ground. Current flows from the line through my body and gets discharged into the ground. That is a big OUCH!

18. Electrical Faults Result in Shock, Burns or Fire...
This is the reasoning behind birds on high voltage wires and why they do not fry. Since the bird is only on the wire there is no conduction between ground or other live conductors. However, if I go to trim my trees and touch the wires or place my ladder on the wires, I have bridged the gap between the live conductor and the ground. Current flows from the line through my body and gets discharged into the ground. That is a big OUCH!
This is the reasoning behind birds on high voltage wires and why they do not fry. Since the bird is only on the wire there is no conduction between ground or other live conductors. However, if I go to trim my trees and touch the wires or place my ladder on the wires, I have bridged the gap between the live conductor and the ground. Current flows from the line through my body and gets discharged into the ground. That is a big OUCH!

19. Electrical Faults Result In Shock, Burns or Fire...
Static Electricity
Occurs when static electrical charges accumulate from friction between dissimilar materials. Discharge of static electricity causes a mild shock.
A good example of static electricity is the balloon in the hair trick. My younger son has medium length hair. When I rub a balloon on his head his hair starts to stand up. He is now “charged” with static electricity. He then does his part to discharge that electricity by touching me, his brother, the cat, the dog, whatever is near. This discharge of static electricity is what causes the mild shock he thinks is so funny. He is the live condutor and whatever he touches ends up being his conducting object bridging the gap between him and ground.

20. Causes Of Electric Shock...
Current flow is the factor that causes injury in electric shock; body resistance will determine the path of flow
Once the skin is broken, a victim will have sharply reduced internal resistance to the flow of current

21. Low Voltage Lethal Shock Computations...
Circuits of 110 volts or less can kill when the conditions are right. This is regular household current.
Synchronized cardioversion 100mA
When we cardiovert, the desire is to stop the heart so the normal pacemaker can take over with a regular rhythm. To do this we discharge energy across their body with two paddles.The body between the paddles is the conducting object. Most household current is 110 volts or 220 volts. By touching a live wire and standing on the ground the same scenario can occur and the heart can stop.

22. Overcurrent Devices...
Protect circuit from excessive heating by opening the circuit automatically in event of excessive current flow from accidental ground, short circuit, or overload.
Examples include fuses and circuit breakers.

23. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter...
GFCI is a fast-acting circuit breaker that is sensitive to very low levels of current leakage (5mA) to ground. When leakage becomes hazardous, it interrupts circuit.
You can find GFCIs in what electricians call “wet” areas such as the bathroom and kitchen. GFCIs are normally used for outside wiring outlets also.

24. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter...
You can find GFCIs in what electricians call “wet” areas such as the bathroom and kitchen. GFCIs are normally used for outside wiring outlets also.
You can find GFCIs in what electricians call “wet” areas such as the bathroom and kitchen. GFCIs are normally used for outside wiring outlets also.

25. Electrical Safety Policy...
An equipment management plan exists to identify, evaluate, inventory, and maintain medical equipment to reduce the physical and health risks associated with its usage
All biomedical and electrical equipment used in a Hospital must be inspected and tested prior to use and labeled with a safety sticker

26. Electrical Safety Policy...
All electrical devices a patient may bring into the hospital need to be inspected and tested prior to use and labeled with a safety sticker prior to their use.

27. Electrical Safety Rules...
Visually inspect all equipment for damage prior to use
Do not use extension cords for permanent wiring
Unplug equipment by pulling on the plug and not the cord
Damaged or defective biomedical/electrical equipment must be removed from service and reported to appropriate authority for repair

28. Electrical Safety Rules...
Keep fluids, chemicals, and heat away from equipment, cords, and cables
Maintain sufficient access around equipment & panels for operations/maintenance
Do not touch energized/conductive surfaces with one hand while touching the patient with the other
Know the function of each control prior to using equipment

29. Emergency Power
Hospitals are equipped with emergency generators which will start automatically if there is a loss of electrical power
Emergency generators are tested monthly in Hospitals
Red electrical outlets provide emergency power for critical patient care equipment
Critical care areas have an abundance of red outlets due to the critical nature of the devices they run. They will also normally be the areas with lighting during a power outage.

30. Points to Remember
Just to recap,fire requires three elements. Heat source, fuel and oxygen. When one is absent, there can be no fire.
It is important to take an active part in fire drills so that you are aware of what your role is in the event of a fire.
Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
Just to recap,fire requires three elements. Heat source, fuel and oxygen. When one is absent, there can be no fire. It is important to take an active part in fire drills so that you are aware of what your role is in the event of a fire. Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
Electricity is a convenient source of energy but should not be taken for granted. It has a current that can be measured and if not respected can kill. The human body has the ability to conduct electricity and serves as the conducting object when an individual touches a live circuit. All patient electrical devices must be checked and cleared by biomed prior to use in the facility, they will have a tag attached when this has been completed. Most of electrical safety and for that matter fire safety involves common sense and an ability to keep your eyes open for hazards in the work place.

31. Points to Remember
Electricity is a convenient source of energy but should not be taken for granted.
It has a current that can be measured and if not respected can kill.
The human body has the ability to conduct electricity and serves as the conducting object when an individual touches a live circuit.
Just to recap,fire requires three elements. Heat source, fuel and oxygen. When one is absent, there can be no fire. It is important to take an active part in fire drills so that you are aware of what your role is in the event of a fire. Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
Electricity is a convenient source of energy but should not be taken for granted. It has a current that can be measured and if not respected can kill. The human body has the ability to conduct electricity and serves as the conducting object when an individual touches a live circuit. All patient electrical devices must be checked and cleared by biomed prior to use in the facility, they will have a tag attached when this has been completed. Most of electrical safety and for that matter fire safety involves common sense and an ability to keep your eyes open for hazards in the work place.

32. Points to Remember
All patient electrical devices must be checked and cleared by biomed prior to use in the facility, they will have a tag attached when this has been completed.
Most of electrical safety, and for that matter fire safety, involves common sense and an ability to keep your eyes open for hazards in the work place.
Just to recap,fire requires three elements. Heat source, fuel and oxygen. When one is absent, there can be no fire. It is important to take an active part in fire drills so that you are aware of what your role is in the event of a fire. Remember R.A.C.E. and P.A.S.S.
Electricity is a convenient source of energy but should not be taken for granted. It has a current that can be measured and if not respected can kill. The human body has the ability to conduct electricity and serves as the conducting object when an individual touches a live circuit. All patient electrical devices must be checked and cleared by biomed prior to use in the facility, they will have a tag attached when this has been completed. Most of electrical safety and for that matter fire safety involves common sense and an ability to keep your eyes open for hazards in the work place.