Assessment of Fire Safety and Evacuation

Methodology Seventeen nursing homes in Ireland were recruited to take part in this research.Ownership varies with seven private homes and ten Health Service Executive (HSE) administered homes involved. The homes were surveyed between May 2007 andNovember 2008. The methodology consisted of the following three elements: A building survey to establish fire safety facilities: An analysis of fire related documentation: Interviews with staff to establish existing fire safety procedures. Results None of the seventeen nursing homes showed an adequate ability to prevent fire or evacuate residents to a place of safety. None of the nursing homes carried out adequate fire risk assessments. None of the nursing homes prevented fire doors being left open. Only one nursing home fully complied with relevant codes of practice in terms of construction and required fire safety facilities. Only one nursing home had a sufficient standard of compartmentation to allow the movement of residents to a relatively safer part of the building to await rescue. However there were positive results such as the fact that all the homes had adequate automatic fire detection and alarm and emergency lighting systems installed and had carried out tests and maintenance on these systems to some extent. One home had routinely carried out all these required tests. Escape routes were found to be clear of obstructions and the standard of storage was high. Staff had received training in fire safety and they were found to be motivated and receptive to improving fire prevention and evacuation. Sample frame extrapolation The number of nursing homes surveyed in this research was 17. This represents a smal