As part of the Trust’s continued work around improving fire safety, staff are being reminded not to wedge open any fire doors.
It can be very tempting to wedge open fire doors around busy areas within the hospital, or to help the airflow during hot weather. But however well intentioned, wedging open fire doors is illegal and provides no protection for the hospital, our patients, visitors and staff should a fire break out.
Keeping fire doors open across our hospitals, such as those in kitchens, store rooms, sluices, cleaning cupboards and changing rooms, would allow smoke and flames to spread more rapidly. If a fire door is defective, please ensure it is reported to the help desk for repair.
Fire doors not only prevent the spread of fire, they also provide an important barrier to smoke. A fully closed fire door can help protect people from the dangers of fire for more than half an hour, allowing critical time to escape or seek refuge, and provide a safe and protected route into the building for emergency services.
No matter how good a fire door is at doing its job, it is rendered useless if it is wedged open. Smoke can spread very rapidly along corridors and into rooms when fire doors are open.
Staff who wedge open fire doors and leave them unattended are placing everyone at risk in the event of a fire and could leave themselves liable to prosecution.
In other news, good progress is being made on our fire evacuation training compliance with both Grantham and Pilgrim now at 93%.
There’s still work to do at Lincoln, maternity in particular, with 76% and 82% respective staff trained.
Keep an eye out in the weekly roundup and on ULHT Together for future training dates.
Staff who have any concerns or would like some further advice on any of the above can contact Fire Safety Advisor, Keiron Davey on 07815 445979.