Healthcare5 min

RACE — Healthcare Fire Response

Reference: CMS CoPs / TJC EC.02.03.01 / NFPA 99

Key Talking Points

R — RESCUE anyone in immediate danger. Move patients away from the fire area. In healthcare, this usually means horizontal evacuation — moving to the other side of a smoke barrier on the same floor.
A — ALARM. Pull the nearest fire alarm pull station and call the facility emergency number (or 911). Announce the location clearly: building, floor, and room or zone.
C — CONTAIN the fire. Close all doors in the area — patient rooms, corridor doors, and smoke barrier doors. Closed doors buy critical time by limiting smoke and heat spread.
E — EXTINGUISH the fire if small and safe to do so, or EVACUATE the area if the fire cannot be controlled. In healthcare, full building evacuation is a last resort — defend-in-place is the primary strategy.
Healthcare operates on a defend-in-place philosophy because patients are often unable to self-evacuate. Smoke compartments are designed to be safe refuge areas. Horizontal movement through smoke barriers is preferred over vertical evacuation.

Close every door you pass — patient rooms, utility rooms, corridor doors
Move patients horizontally past the nearest smoke barrier to a safe compartment
Know the location of your zone's pull stations, extinguishers, and smoke barriers
Announce code red with the specific location when calling it in
Account for all patients in your area during the event

Use elevators during a fire — they may open on the fire floor
Ignore a fire alarm, even if you think it is a false alarm — always investigate
Attempt to move bed-bound patients down stairwells unless directed by the fire department
Open a closed door that is hot to the touch
Leave patients unattended in the fire zone while you respond elsewhere

Where are the nearest smoke barriers and pull stations in your unit?
How would you move a bed-bound patient to the adjacent smoke compartment?
When was the last fire drill in your area, and what went well or needed improvement?