Fire Disaster Preparation Plan for Rural Aged Care Facility - Assessment Answer

Introduction

Natural disaster occurring hazards for example bushfires, storms, heat, as well as floods can and do happen occasionally causing adverse effects to human life. Australia is not new to these incidents with the country having experienced the Saturday Black Bushfires in the Australian State of Victoria in 2009 as the worst natural calamity in the history of the country’s existence (Franchise Council of Australia, 2019). Although the actual size of the land these fires scorched is disputable, it is claimed that the area affected was more than 4,500 square kilometers, and 2,029 homesteads. About 173 people lost lives in the course of the matter, and more than 414 people were injured while the recovery cost incurred by the Government was more than a billion Australian dollars (National Geographic, n.d). As a result of Australia’s fire history, fire safety is of greater importance especially in aged care facilities as patients in these facilities lack good mobility and are vulnerable (Week 3 | Summary : 96331 Planning and Evaluating Health Services - Session 2 2023). This essay documents a fire disaster preparation plan for an aged care facility on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales in Australia.

Fire Preventive Measures for the Care Facility

Fire safety and aged fire care prevention is a primary consideration this plan shall be undertaking bearing in mind the infirmity and the impact of age on their lives (Week 3 | Summary: 96331 Planning and Evaluating Health Services - Session 2 2023). The aged lack mobility and maybe unable to escape themselves in the event of a fire outbreak in their residence. For that reason, the care facility will be designed with the following fire preventive measures to help minimize the impacts of a fire on the resident in the event of its outbreak.

Fire Sprinkler Systems

Each chamber of the facility will be installed with a minimum of 2 fire sprinkler systems. The management will ensure to train a fire extinguishing team of 5 members to manage the sprinklers. These fire extinguishers will permanently will live at the facility and will be responsible for manning the sprinklers. The management of the facility will install the sprinklers and their role will be to prevent the growth and spread of fires in the sudden instances where fire breaks out at the facility. The sprinklers will be installed with their heads connected to a water distribution piping system and the extinguishers will release water through the sprinklers when the air reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a proactive fire prevention measure that will help protect the lives of the facility’s aged residents and staff.

Smoke Alarms

As it is a requirement of all New South Wales aged care fire protection facilities, the facility will include smoke alarms that will help sense the presence of any smoke as an indication of a fire/fire outbreak in the facility (RedMen Fire Protection Management, 2023). Smoke detectors will be installed in every chamber of the facility and these will be connected to the facility’s fire alarm control panel. In case of a fire outbreak, the smoke detectors will give a signal to the fire alarm control panel which is part of the facility’s central fire alarm system to trigger a timely reactions of the fire extinguishing team to offset the fire before it spreads further.

Landscape Management

Australia’s history of sudden and out-of-the blue bushfires has in the recent past inspired insights into proper landscape management strategies. Partly, the fires have been thought to be a result of a reckless policy towards landscape management. Cases of tree cutting, oil-bearing eucalypts trees and extreme vegetation have facilitated bushfire outbreaks in hot dry summers. The current facility is strategically located inland from the coast. But still this position can make it hard to get quick emergency help where if the fire breaks out given that it is remote. Therefore, the management of the facility has sought permission from the New South Wales environmental management authority to clear all dry vegetation and oil-bearing eucalypts trees as these are deemed architects of bushfires causing their wild spread. The facility will be allowed a free spacious surrounding that is devoid of fire outbreak facilitating agents.

Continuity Measures

Fire Risk Assessment

For the reason that acute care is related with emergency services which are in turn related to local communities and primary care, the facility management intends to roll out a full-scale fire prevention plan that will at all-time guarantee the safety of the facility’s occupants. First and foremost, the facility fire prevention team will partner with Delta Fires a renowned and acclaimed fire prevention agency in Australia to help the team at the facility carryout monthly fire risk assessment sessions to find out any possible gaps in our fire compliance (Delta Fire, 2022). The assessments will help the facility’s fire prevention site team identify any fire safety hazards and suggest remedial measures that will be necessary to protect the facility and its vulnerable occupants. Management will base on the decades of experience of Delta Fires to know whether our current fire prevention measures are sufficient and suitable for the facility. The team from Delta Fires will assess the facility’s passive and structural fire prevention measures, warning alarm systems, extinguishers, sprinklers, emergency lighting and signage of escape in the event of a fire outbreak.

Power

Given the demographic the facility will be hosting, raising the awareness of the occupants and caretakers about the possible causes of fire outbreaks will be an important continuity measure to ensuring the safety of the people at the facility. As such, the management together with its partners will advise the facility occupants and electricians of the facility not to overload the facility’s power boards and double adapters as this can cause overheating if the facility. Also, the facility users and staff will be cautioned to always ensure that any radiators and electric heaters, and appliances are removed from the facility’s electric circuits after use. Aside the effect of bushfires, facility fire outbreaks are often a result of careless power use and overloading. Thus, the management of the aged care facility aims at ensuring there is an active power use management plan to make sure cases of negligence which result into facility fire outbreaks are minimized. In particular, the on-site fire prevention will be charged with the responsibility of monitoring the building chambers to see if the power is being appropriately used, advise on its loading especially as it is that the facility is housing an aged population with some individuals said to be residents with dementia.

Emergency Response Measures

Evacuation Plans

The aged care facility management will design a fire evacuation plan detailing all action that needs to be taken if fire has set off at the facility and the procedures for calling the fire brigade. The plan will include some of the following information:

General Fire Notices: These will take the form simple fire action sign posts which will be put in open spaces where staff, facility members and visitors can be able to read and familiarize with the content on them

Staff Fire Notice

For a large care facility that will be housing more people like the Mid-North Coast Aged Care Facility. The facility needs a detailed emergency evacuation plan that will include findings of the fire risk assessment plan, the occupants at risk and the specific chambers in the facility in which they reside. Notices giving clear instructions on the routines that should be followed in the event of a fire outbreak will be displayed. The fire prevention team will be nominated to put into action the fire management plan. Delta Fires team will be contracted to train the facility’s staff in evacuation procedures and firefighting. The emergency fire evacuation plan will include an evacuation strategy which will be arranged in vertical phase evacuation (Safelincs, 2022). By the vertical phase evacuation plan, the fire prevention team will initiate evacuation plans beginning with members who are at the closet risk of fire consequences in the event of its outbreak. This could be victims residing in chambers where the fire has started from, immobile residents or individuals on the floor where the fire has begun from and the above floor as others are advised to move to the fire free areas and be on the standby of evacuation. Given the more time this process takes, the fire prevention team will implement the fire evacuation plan in observation of other prevention and risk assessment measures like sprinklers, fire control points and voice alarm systems.

At last, given that the facility inhabits some mentally inapt individuals who are unable to interpret the premises layouts, means will be made available to help them perhaps interpret the available escape routes. These will include drawings and emergency escape and exist signs. Moreover, the management will pre-determine a designated evacuation assembly point/safe facility where a roll-call will be made by the staff and a report made to the fire prevention team to identify any missing individuals or losses caused.

Resident and Workforce Safety

The R.A.C.E model is the most relevant measure used and one that will be emphasized at the facility if there is a fire outbreak.

Rescue/Remove

The on-site fire prevention team will work to rescue all members closet to the fire in the event of even a fire alarm or fire-out break per the procedures detailed in the fire evacuation plan and following the vertical phase evacuation plan.

Alert/Activate

The head of the fire prevention team will immediately call the fire brigade and the New South Wales fire rescue emergency number (000) and SMS 0423 677 767 further specifying his name, location of the facility and the details of the emergency go ahead. Moreover, the team head will need to clearly specify the services he needs like ambulance, fire or the policy. In an event of a fire outbreak, our team is advised to seek for all services including a fire water brigade, ambulance if their casualties and police to help in the evacuation process given the large number of people staying at the premise.

Confine

To ensure the safety of both residents and the workforce, all inlets or doors to the fire will be closed to minimize its spread and effect.

Evacuate

If the fire impedes the fire extinguishing measures, the fire prevention team will evacuate the residents with the help of the called New South Wales fire evacuation team.

Partners in the Plan

The Mid-North Coast Aged Care Facility for New South Wales partners for fire disaster preparation plan include our on-site nominated fire prevention team, Delta Fires, the New South Wales Fire Rescue team, police and local residents at the Mid-North Coast area of New South Wales and electricians.

Responsibilities

The on-site fire prevention team will be responsible for carrying out routine fire risk assessment to identify any gaps with our fire compliance measures. The team will also supervise the use of the facility’s power, power boards, double adapters and other appliances to ensure their proper use. Then, Delta Fires will carry out monthly risk assessment audits of our fire compliance strategies and guide our fire prevention team, identify any fire safety hazards and recommend remedial measures that will be necessary to protect the facility from the risks of fire outbreaks. The facility’s last and immediate partner is the New South Wales fire rescue department that we look to rely upon for help in the aftermath of a fire outbreak. For a large entity tasked with fire rescue in the state, the NSW fire rescue team will afford the facility emergency fire rescue and evacuation help at any time when there is an unfortunate incident of a fire outbreak at the facility.

Decision Making Timeframes

Soon as a smoker detector makes an alarm and it is received at the facility’s fire alarm control panel, the facility team of fire preventers will be notified of the incident and fire sprinklers and extinguishers in the specific chamber of the smoke detection will be switched-on to extinguish the fire. If the smoke is extinguished, the facility’s electrical team and fire prevention team will commence investigations in the chamber to identify the root cause of the smoke whether it be a wiring issue, misuse or overloading of power or an act of negligence by residents or staff. On the other hand, if the smoke spirals into fire and impedes the on-site fire prevention team, the facility sprinklers, fire extinguishers will be switched on and the New South Wales fire rescue time will immediately be called at the scene to work together with the on-site team and help in the evacuation process of the residents and staff.

Conclusion

The Mid-North Coast Aged facility fire disaster preparedness plan is a system-based approach which recognizes the need for emergency planning in a country that has since its inception been a victim of fire outbreaks. Yet again, community preferences for the aged population to live in gazette residential areas is aligned with Australia’s financial sustainability plans because the provision of care to the aged population necessitates less funding as compared to home or healthcare homes (Week 4 | Summary: 96331 Planning and Evaluating Health Services - Session 2 2023). The facility’s plan recognizes the fact that acute care works hand in hand with emergency services and primary care. Thus, the significance of having a well-planned and practical fire disaster preparation plan to counter emergency crises like fire outbreaks can hardly be overstated; it is a part plan to ensuring the health of the aged population and ensuring its safety.

References

Delta Fire. (2022, October 24). Fire Industry Experts. https://deltafire.com.au/

Franchise Council of Australia. (2019, April 30). Fire safety for aged care facilities. FCF | Fire, Electrical & Safety Services Australia. https://www.fcfnational.com.au/blog/fire-safety-for-aged-care-facilities

National Geographic. (n.d.). Black Saturday bushfires in Australia. Education | National Geographic Society. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/black-saturday-bushfires-australia/

RedMen Fire Protection Management. (2023, March 1). Aged care fire protection / Best nursing home fire safety. RedMen Fire Protection. https://redmen.com.au/aged-care-fire-protection-nursing-home-fire-safety/

Safelincs Ltd. (2022, February 9). Fire emergency evacuation plan and the fire procedure : Firesafe.org.uk. Firesafe.org.uk. https://www.firesafe.org.uk/fire-emergency-evacuation-plan-or-fire-procedure/

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