Page 39 - Insurance Times January 2024

fire stations, rushed to the spot, got the assistance of Overused Sockets and Cables
the DRF Team and doused the flames. The great relief Faulty or overloaded electrics are one of the leading causes
was that the top floors of the building were not of fire in hospitals. Due to the large number of electric
occupied. Since the occupancy was limited only up to equipment needed in a hospital, there are various risks
3rd floor, fire fighting at great height was not all involved. Short-circuits, overloaded electricity points, and
required. It must be noticed that the fire spread very faulty or worn wirings all represent substantial fire risks.
fast to the entire hospital occupied area. Good quality cable laid through metal conduit or coaxial

2. As complex hospital buildings occupied by vulnerable cable need to be used and obviously heat resisted cable must
people mainly the patients lying on their beds, doctors be the choice which will assist averting spreading of fire.
& nurses being busy attending their operations & their
patients, hospitals present a number of significant fire No Smoking Rule to be strictly implimented
risks. Whether wiring problems or the storage of Despite the fact that more than two-thirds of NHS hospitals
hazardous materials, these risks threaten the safety of now have a complete ban on smoking, it still remains a
patients and staff alike and can bring a hospital to a significant fire risk. Un-extinguished cigarette/bidi stubs can
standstill. This prompted the author to state about cause ashtray fires, which can quickly spread if not addressed
some of the fire hazards relevant to hospital buildings, quickly. Smoking areas/ kiosks should be located in a secure
and how to mitigate them through effective passive location away from a hospital's main buildings.
fireproofing methods.
Fire protection construction in Hospitals
Potential fire hazards in Hospitals: Whilst there are countless ways to mitigate fire hazards in
The following hazards should be checked during a regular hospitals, below are three common fireproofing techniques
to be adopted to ensure that fires are effectively controlled:
risk assessment by the 'Responsible Person' -
1. Hospital fire compartmentalization:
Medical and Surgical Equipment Fire compartmentalization in a hospital is vital in order
to prevent fire from spreading vertically and laterally
Although designed with fire safety in mind, many materials into different rooms. Hospitals are divided into fire
used in hospitals are combustible. Gas cylinders and oxygen
compartments, each of which acts as self-contained unit
canisters should be stored and handled correctly, and
via fire-resistant walls and flooring. In order to ensure
protocols on electrical loading should be followed for energy- the integrity of compartmentalization, there can be no
intensive equipment. Oxygen cylinders now-a-days are
gaps between the doors, walls or ceilings in the hospital.
dispensed with in modern hospitals to ensure continuous It's no good having a fire-resistant door if there are gaps
supply of oxygen (even at the late hours of night when the between the door and its frame. Toxic fumes and smoke
attendants may feel sleepy) being substituted by continuous can easily pass through under ordinary doors, which is
flow of oxygen through pipelines conned with oxygen why regulations state that it's necessary to seal them.
manifold / attendants engaged thereon, to ensure the
This process is called fire stopping, and requires the
continuous supply of oxygen to all the patients located at
all the floors. But the installation of the pipelines requires a installation of suitably tested fire-resistant systems to
the structure surrounding the door, or to the door itself,
lot of safety aspects including auto tripping of oxygen flow,
in order to delay the spread of fire and smoke from one
otherwise at the time of fire incident, this pipelines will area of the building to another.
provide an immediate & very fast channel for spreading fire
to all floors. 2. Fire doors:
Fire doors are not only strategically placed for
Hospital Kitchens evacuation, but they must be fire-resistant too. The
minimum fire protection time for fire doors is to be 30
Kitchens have many fire hazards, from cooking with fats to
minutes, although requirement of this time period may
open flames. It's vital that pans, grills and other equipment
be longer in some areas, where evacuation time is
are regularly cleaned, and kitchens are equipped with the
appropriate fire safety equipment and heat resisted cable estimated to be slower.
to prevent immediate propagation of fire - once it has Regulations allow for fire doors to be made with a
started. variety of materials (timber, aluminum, steel, gypsum),

The Insurance Times January 2024 35