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WHAT DOES LIFE SAFETY MEAN?
“Life Safety” means ensuring the surroundings that temporary residents or patients in a Healthcare facility are as safe possible. The way this is done is to maintain the “compartmentation” in patient rooms by inspecting and maintaining the various components of the compartment or fire zone.
Some components of the fire zone include:
- Fire resistant walls and floors
- Fire and smoke dampers
- Fire doors, both swinging and rolling
- Fire glass
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has established standards for the inspection and maintenance of these components in its Life Safety Code 101. The Joint Commission (Joint Commission) has adopted these standards and inspects for them when it surveys your hospital.
NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, defines a residential board and care facility as “a building or portion thereof that is used for lodging and boarding four or more residents not related by blood or marriage to the owners or operators for the purpose of providing personal care services”.
NFPA estimates that an average of 2,080 structure fires in residential board and care facilities per year were reported to U.S. fire departments during 2000-2004. These fires caused an average of 6 civilian deaths, 62 civilian injuries and $11.5 million in direct property damage.