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Hurricane Sandy has shown us that there is a thin line between functioning systems and a breakdown in life safety protections.   One need only look at New York City's Bellevue Hospital and NYU Hospitals to see that cascading system failures put lives at risk.  The dramatic image of patients being carried down flights of stairs illustrates the risk.

With floods, earthquakes and other calamities can come power loss, fire and blocked streets and no way for first responders to help.  It is times like these where onsite safety equipment like fire extinguishers, AEDs, first aid kits and medical oxygen go from being the first line of defense to the last resort protection in all facilities particularly in healthcare.  The factors that make fire extinguishers and other safety assets important don’t change in a catastrophe, faster response and having devices in the right place as the right time is vital.

The types of safety assets that should be monitored 24x7?  Fire extinguishers, medical oxygen tanks, AEDs, crash carts, emergency evacuation sleds and chairs, flash lights, emergency lights and more.  Be ready,  monitor your equipment.

It seems to us that it has been too long since we wrote a fire extinguisher success story wrap-up. As usual, the stories aren’t hard to find.  Small fires kept from turning into large, devastating fires by quick thinking individuals using these critical life safety devices.  Here is a wrap up:

Nursing Home Employees Keep Fire From Spreading

 
Nursing home employees in Missouri used a fire extinguisher to save the Bluffs Nursing home from burning down after a food warmer caught fire.  According to an article from Connect Mid-Missouri:
 

The Columbia fire department says employees at a nursing home saved the building during an early evening fire.It happened at about 5:00pm last night at the Bluffs nursing home on Bluff Creek drive.

Firefighters found a small fire involving the plug from a food warmer and an electrical outlet that had been extinguished by employees using a fire extinguisher.  The fire caused about $4,000 worth of damage.

 
Without the use of proper fire extinguishers by the employees this accident could have been much worse.  Evacuating elderly people can be a very dangerous activity for both the firefighters and the people being evacuated.
 

Fire Extinguishers (and Good Fences) Make Good Neighbors

 A neighbor with a keen eye saved a house in New London Connecticut using a fire extinguisher to put out a blaze before fire officials would even arrive.  These actions prevented injuries and minimized the damages to the house.  According to Connecticut’s TheDay.com:
 

An alert neighbor grabbed a fire extinguisher and quickly knocked down an outside fire at 12 Home St. on Monday afternoon.  Battalion Chief Keith Nichols said fire personnel arrived around 2 p.m. to find lots of smoke with the blaze knocked down but still smoldering. No one was injured, Nichols said, and the damage was contained to the outside, porch and siding area of the multi-family home.  Firefighters pulled siding from the home and sprayed it down. One firefighter used a chainsaw to cut away burnt siding and another peeled up porch slats to make sure the fire had not spread.  Nichols did not know the cause of the fire, which remains under investigation by the fire marshal’s office.

 
 This good neighbor was prepared and ready for an accident, when it happened he reacted and saved the house.  Without the necessary equipment this small fire could’ve easily engulfed the entire house
 

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Dig Deeper:  Watch The Brief Presentation, 4 Reasons it is an Emergency When An Extinguisher is Pulled on Your Campus 

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Tenant Fights Kitchen Fire: Protects Fellow Residents, Building

 The occupant of an apartment in Ohio saved his unit as well as others’ in the apartment building when he quelled a kitchen fire using a fire extinguisher.  The article in IndieOnline.com reports:
 

According to reports, fire crews responded to 1819 Miles Ave. NW around 9:45 p.m. Fire Chief Tracy Hogue said that the occupant of the apartment where the fire started used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames and that the department needed minimal amounts of water to extinguish the fire.  Smoke from the fire filled the entire apartment and forced the residents of the adjoining apartments to evacuate.  The only damage reported was to the apartment where the fire originated. The smoke and heat damage, which was contained to the kitchen, was estimated at $5,000.

This quick thinking tenant was well prepared and potentially saved not only his unit, but also the entire building.  

Couple Uses Fire Extinguishers To Escape Aggressive Blaze

With millions of fires each year being effectively fought with fire extinguishers, it is vitally important to ensure that these silent heroes are available, accessible and working properly.  Find out more about how enGauge monitors your organization's extinguishers so they are ready when you need them.

A 2009 survey by the Joint Commission an independent, non-profit organization that accredits health care organizations found that the number one challenge indicated in maintaining the environment of care was fire safety equipment maintenance.

Among the Joint Commission's requirements is the monthly physical maintenance and inspection of fire equipment. Monthly physical inspections can be costly, especially in time and labor required.

The good news is that like the NFPA and the ICC, the Joint Commission now recognizes en-Gauge's technology as an equivalent to the manual 30-day fire extinguisher inspections. Health care facilities that adopt en-Gauge can reduce risk, stay code compliant and potentially reduce the cost of extinguisher ownership by some 60% over 12 years.

Read the full release for details.