On the afternoon of Sunday November 15, 2020, firefighters were called to a New York nursing home where a working fire had heavy flames already visible. The flames were shooting from the garage that houses the facility’s laundry, and wind gusts were blowing it in the direction of the area where the residents live.
What could have been a huge tragedy was thwarted by the combined effort from firefighters, nursing home workers, families, and people in the community who helped evacuate the residents and wrapped them in blankets.
“This definitely had the potential to be a disastrous situation…. It was a great team effort by everyone involved,” said the Fire Chief at the scene. He gave credit to the firefighters for their quick response in getting to the scene just three minutes after the call was received, and then containing the fire to keep it from spreading. “There was a lot heat with that fire,” he said, “and the 20 to 40 mile per hour winds we were fighting didn’t help matters.”
It was an “all hands-on deck” response as off-duty staff came to help, and people who were passing by stopped to assist.
The residents were only out of the building for a short time because the firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze.
What caused the fire is unknown, and an investigation is underway.
Compliance Perspective
Not having an effective Emergency Response Plan for dealing with an unexpected, potentially life-threatening crisis like a fire may put residents in jeopardy for their lives, resulting in citations and sanctions for violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review Emergency Preparedness policies and procedures for responding to unexpected disasters to ensure that they are up-to-date and include protocols for responding to any type of unexpected crisis, e.g., fire, earthquake, severe weather events, and floods.
- Train staff on the emergency response protocols for all types of emergencies.
- Periodically audit by conducting mock drills to determine staff competence for responding to a crisis situation, including the safe evacuation of residents.
