More often than not, fire code violations are unwittingly created in the rush to help a patient or complete a critical task.
As a medical facility, it’s crucial that you stay in compliance in order to help the many patients that come through your facility every day. Many medical facilities have multiple fire code violations upon inspection, and the reason isn’t that those working in medical facilities don’t care. More often than not, fire code violations are unwittingly created in the rush to help a patient or complete a critical task. Here are some of the most common fire code violations in medical facilities and the best ways to stay in compliance.
Blocked Fire Extinguishers
Blocked fire extinguishers are common in almost every business, unfortunately. Why are blocked fire extinguishers against fire code? In the event of an emergency, you should never need to worry about moving shelving, adjusting a door, or moving anything else around in order to grab the fire extinguisher. Fire extinguishers often mean the difference between fire spreading and becoming more dangerous and being, well, extinguished. Don’t leave the safety and security of your patients and medical facility to chance with a blocked or inaccessible fire extinguisher.
Empty Fire Extinguishers
Empty fire extinguishers are also a common problem. Not everyone realizes that after a fire extinguisher is used, it shouldn’t be placed right back on the wall where it was before. It can be a dangerous time-waster to have an empty fire extinguisher displayed at your medical facility. In the event of an emergency, people will waste time trying to use an inoperable fire extinguisher instead of looking for one that is properly working, alerting the authorities, or trying to evacuate. If you have an empty fire extinguisher at your medical facility, it’s critical that you replace it with a properly working full one immediately.
Missing Fire Extinguishers
Missing fire extinguishers are another common fire code violation in medical facilities. In order to properly follow fire code, you need to have fire extinguishers installed in easily-accessible spots throughout your facility. You also need to have the location marked with signs so that you can tell when one is missing or damaged. If you have signage indicating a fire extinguisher, make sure that there is actually one there or risk a fire code violation.
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