When you work at an assisted living facility, you have a duty to maintaining the safety of those who reside there. A fire is one of the things you must be prepared for. Conducting a fire drill is an important way to make sure that you, the rest of the staff and the residents are ready for any disaster that might happen.
Instructions
Making Sure You Are Ready
1. Divide the number of patients in the ward by the number of employees that are typically on duty. Put the patients into groups by location. During each shift, the employees should be aware of which group they are in charge of in the event of a fire. Have enough employees on duty for each employee to have a reasonable number of residents to evacuate, plus an extra employee to keep an eye on things outside once evacuations have taken place.
2. Write out escape plans, if your facility does not already have them. If you need help, contact your local fire marshal. Make sure there are plans for each exit in the facility. Remember, each room and each area in the facility should have several options, depending on where the fire might be. To be prepared, run several drills based on having the fire in different areas.
3. Announce to the staff that there will be a fire drill. Pass out sheets that have instructions and information listing the groups of residences and multiple exits for each group.
4. Announce to the residents that there will be a fire drill. This will help avoid panic, in the event that residents are easily excited.
The Drill
5. Choose a day and time for your fire drill.
6. Notify the fire department at least two full days before the fire drill will take place. Fire departments like to take part in fire drills; it helps them create plans and train firefighters, and helps you make sure you have done everything right.
7. Ring the fire alarm on the set day. Proceed exactly as you would in the event of a fire. The fire department should be called immediately.
8. Begin the evacuation of residents. Each staff member should immediately proceed to his or her specific group of residents and move them to the outside. Instruct staff members to follow a set procedure each time there is a fire drill. The patients who cannot move themselves should be taken to the exits first, while those who are mobile should be encouraged to follow to the exits. After the staff member has moved the patients who cannot move themselves, the staff member should return to assist the mobile patients in his group. After those patients have been moved, the staff member should return to aid any other staff members that need help.
9. Simulate some of the movements of the less-mobile residents, if need be. The first time a drill is done, all of the residents should be moved, so that employees know complete the drill. However, the point of a drill is so those who need to know move residents do. Therefore, after employees have moved nonmobile residents once and understand how much time the procedure takes, the movement of those residents can be simulated thereafter, to eliminate stress on those patients.
10. When all residents have been evacuated, employees should stay with the residents and notify the fire marshal that everyone has left.
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