Guest blogger George Mills, director of the department of engineering at The Joint Commission, recently shared 10 ways for healthcare providers to help prevent home care fires in a post on The Joint Commission's home care blog, "@ Home with The Joint Commission."
To prevent home care fires, Mr. Mills recommends the following:
1. Maintain working smoke detectors. Test them monthly.
2. Develop a fire escape plan with patients and families. Practice the plan every year.
3. Don't allow piles of objects near chairs or beds. While these objects are convenient for patients with limited mobility, they are fire hazards.
4. Make patients aware of ignition sources, including gas stoves, water heaters, space heaters and oxygen.
5. Implement a no smoking, no candles policy in situations where patients are using oxygen.
6. Regularly assess equipment tubing, valves and overall condition.
7. Ensure safe storage of medical oxygen. Safe storage means keeping cylinders upright, dry, room temperature and away from sunlight.
8. Inform patients of the dances of using items containing oil, including lotions, near oxygen.
9. Maintain recommended boundaries around oxygen containers during use. This means six inches of clearance around the oxygen concentrator and 10 feet of clearance from any open flames.
10. Keep oxygen, paper and blankets away from space heaters. Space heaters account for 75 percent of mortality in home heating fires.
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To prevent home care fires, Mr. Mills recommends the following:
1. Maintain working smoke detectors. Test them monthly.
2. Develop a fire escape plan with patients and families. Practice the plan every year.
3. Don't allow piles of objects near chairs or beds. While these objects are convenient for patients with limited mobility, they are fire hazards.
4. Make patients aware of ignition sources, including gas stoves, water heaters, space heaters and oxygen.
5. Implement a no smoking, no candles policy in situations where patients are using oxygen.
6. Regularly assess equipment tubing, valves and overall condition.
7. Ensure safe storage of medical oxygen. Safe storage means keeping cylinders upright, dry, room temperature and away from sunlight.
8. Inform patients of the dances of using items containing oil, including lotions, near oxygen.
9. Maintain recommended boundaries around oxygen containers during use. This means six inches of clearance around the oxygen concentrator and 10 feet of clearance from any open flames.
10. Keep oxygen, paper and blankets away from space heaters. Space heaters account for 75 percent of mortality in home heating fires.
