Emergency services were dispatched to a nursing home in Illinois at 4:34 a.m. on August 21, 2024, following an activated fire alarm. As responders were en route, the situation was upgraded to a structure fire. Upon arrival, it was determined that the blaze had started in a residential unit on the second floor of a two-story building. Firefighters swiftly deployed hoses to the second floor to control the main fire, while additional teams conducted search and rescue operations.
Although the fire was contained to the room of origin, the second floor was heavily smoke-filled. Seven residents were rescued from the second floor and relocated to safety on the first floor. The fire was declared extinguished at 5:14 a.m. No one required transport to the hospital. The building suffered substantial water and smoke damage, particularly in the fire’s origin area. As a result, twenty-two units are now uninhabitable due to the damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
In a separate incident, on August 12, a resident of a Connecticut assisted living facility was injured in an early morning fire that started in their bathroom. The fire was reported at approximately 3:05 a.m. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which was confined to the first-floor apartment’s bathroom. The large building did not require evacuation; only the affected resident was moved to another apartment. According to the fire chief, the fire-rated doors were effective in containing the fire, and the area was subsequently ventilated thoroughly.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Facility staff should be well versed in life safety and emergency preparedness requirements. Facility leaders are responsible for reviewing the Emergency Preparedness Plan and Life Safety Code specifications to ensure that staff are aware of and meeting the requirements. It is critical that the facility’s Emergency Preparedness Plan is periodically reviewed and promptly implemented should any emergency arise. An effective Emergency Preparedness Plan should address fire emergencies and provide detailed guidelines for the total evacuation of a facility to a safe location, transport of required equipment, secure handling of medications and medical records to transfer locations, and much more. For further details, refer to the CMS State Operations Manual, Appendix Z, available here.
Discussion Points
- Review your Emergency Preparedness Plan and update as necessary. Review the most current Life Safety codes and ensure that your building meets those requirements. Make sure the Plan is available to staff so they can easily access the guidelines for the various components should an emergency occur.
- Train all staff on your Emergency Preparedness Plan. Conduct drills for the various disaster response plans to ensure staff competency with each. Ensure that the facility Maintenance Director is aware of current Life Safety codes and provide training as needed. Document that these trainings and drills occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically conduct environmental audits to ensure that Life Safety codes are being followed. Audit staff to ensure that they are aware of their roles during each category of emergency per your Emergency Preparedness Plan. Audit to ensure that thorough documentation of each drill is on file and available for surveyor access when requested, to include participation in an annual area-wide drill with your local emergency response teams.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
