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Evacuation Preparedness in the Event of Fire in Intensive Care Units in Sweden: More is Needed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2017

Erika Löfqvist ,
Åsa Oskarsson ,
Helge Brändström ,
Alpo Vuorio  and
Michael Haney Open the ORCID record for Michael Haney [Opens in a new window]
Erika Löfqvist
Affiliation:
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Åsa Oskarsson
Affiliation:
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Helge Brändström
Affiliation:
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Alpo Vuorio
Affiliation:
Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Michael Haney*
Affiliation:
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, and Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
*
Correspondence: Michael Haney, MD, PhD Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine University Hospital of Umeå 901 85 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: michael.haney@umu.se
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Abstract

Introduction

Hospitals, including intensive care units (ICUs), can be subject to threat from fire and require urgent evacuation.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis was that the current preparedness for ICU evacuation for fire in the national public hospital system in a wealthy country was very good, using Sweden as model.

Methods

An already validated questionnaire for this purpose was adapted to national/local circumstances and translated into Swedish. It aimed to elicit information concerning fire response planning, personnel education, training, and exercises. Questionnaire results (yes/no answers) were collected and answers collated to assess grouped responses. Frequencies of responses were determined.

Results

While a written hospital plan for fire response and evacuation was noted by all responders, personnel familiarity with the plan was less frequent. Deficiencies were reported concerning all categories: lack of written fire response plan for ICU, lack of personnel education in this, and lack of practical exercises to practice urgent evacuation in the event of fire.

Conclusions

These findings were interpreted as an indication of risk for worse consequences for patients in the event of fire and ICU evacuation among the hospitals in the country that was assessed, despite clear regulations and requirements for these. The exact reasons for this lack of compliance with existing laws was not clear, though there are many possible explanations. To remedy this, more attention is needed concerning recognizing risk related to lack of preparedness. Where there exists a goal of high-quality work in the ICU, this should include general leadership and medical staff preparedness in the event of urgent ICU evacuation.

LöfqvistE, OskarssonA, BrändströmH, VuorioA, HaneyM. Evacuation Preparedness in the Event of Fire in Intensive Care Units in Sweden: More is Needed. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(3):317–320.

Keywords

fire preparednesshospital evacuationintensive care unit
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , June 2017 , pp. 317 - 320
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2017 

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Footnotes

Note: E. Löfqvist and A. Oskarsson are joint first authors.

Conflicts of interest: None of the authors has any conflict of interest to declare.

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