HCPro.com: Healthcare Life Safety Compliance

June 2008 (Volume 10, Issue 6)	view entire issue

Joint Commission updates alarm transmission options
The Joint Commission permits healthcare facilities to use five allowable methods to transmit fire alarm signals. The accreditor recently updated its provisions for manual alarm transmission under certain circumstances, according to the March Joint Commission Perspectives, the accreditor's newsletter. The addition applies to healthcare occupancies.

With interior finishes, know what values to watch for
Depending on the material used, an interior finish can have a considerable effect on flame spread during a blaze. For example, although paint on concrete blocks probably won't contribute much to a fire, wood paneling or cork present a much bigger risk because of their flammability. The famous Hartford (CT) Hospital fire in 1961, which killed 16 people, was in part attributed to combustible ceiling tiles that rapidly spread flames down corridors, according to the NFPA's Health Care Facilities Handbook, Seventh Edition.

Questions & Answers
Editor's note: Each month, Jennifer Frecker and James K. Lathrop of fire protection consulting firm Koffel Associates, Inc., in Elkridge, MD, answer your questions about life safety compliance. Our editorial advisory board also reviews the Q&A column.

Other recently-published articles from Healthcare Life Safety Compliance:

Life safety citations play a big role in lingering struggle

Regarding smoke barriers, correct locations and opening protection become prime concerns

Questions & answers

Watch for door gap scrutiny, multiple concerns in 2009

Weigh your risks when protecting electronic records

HLSC Q&A

Know where your facility needs fire barriers and what ratings the barriers need to meet the LSC

A primer on criticality and other 2009 scoring nuances

Space heater use to be more restrictive as of January 1

Beware of fire door trouble

Consider forming a life safety committee soon

State rebukes hospital about burned surgical patient

Retrofitting sprinklers will cost nursing homes $846 million

NFPA 82 sets the rules for sprinklers and ratings related to your facility’s limited access chutes

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