Office of the Fire Marshal |
OFM-TG-01-1998 |
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STAFFING LEVELS
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January 1998 |
The reproduction of this guideline for non-commercial purposes
is permitted and encouraged. Permission to reproduce the guideline
for commercial purposes must be obtained from the Office of the
Fire Marshal, Ontario.
SECTION
Abstract
1. Scope
2. Background
3. Fire Code Requirements
4. Factors that Impact on Staffing Levels
5. Calculation of Staffing Needs
6. Responsibility
7. Additional Information
January, 1998
OFM Section: Fire Safety Standards at (416) 325-3100
The Ontario Fire Code requires institutional occupancies to prepare and
implement a fire safety plan that has been approved by the Chief Fire
Official. An institution must appoint, organize and instruct designated
supervisory staff to carry out the necessary fire safety duties. There must
also be sufficient supervisory staff available to perform these duties. This
guideline is intended to assist in determining the number of supervisory
staff required to properly implement the fire safety plan, and in
particular, to carry out an emergency evacuation.
The guideline identifies a number of factors that should be taken into
consideration when establishing staffing levels for purposes of emergency
evacuation. A methodology is presented to calculate staffing demands based
on probable fire scenarios and occupant mix. Finally, guidance is provided
on adjustments that may be implemented to achieve evacuation within an
appropriate target time.
1.0 Scope
This guideline is intended to assist facility administrators and fire
officials in establishing an appropriate level of staffing to
effectively implement fire safety plans in health care facilities. The
principles in the guideline are equally applicable to related occupancies
such as residential care facilities (retirement homes, rest homes etc.) that
provide varying levels of supervisory care and assistance with daily living.
2.0 Background
Fire safety in health care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes
is based largely on "defend-in-place" principles. This is in recognition of
the limited mobility of occupants and the possibility that they may have to
remain in the building for an extended period of time during fire emergency
conditions. Current codes require that such buildings have a higher standard
of construction incorporating a greater degree of containment, egress, early
warning and suppression features. Older buildings, particularly those that
pre-date building codes, may not have such enhanced features.
While certain facilities may have enhanced fire safety features,
significant reliance is placed on the availability of trained staff to
ensure the safety of occupants under fire emergency conditions. Staff are
required to help evacuate occupants to an adjacent protected zone or floor
area. In some cases, total building evacuation may be necessary, although
such an occurrence is rare.
3.0 Fire Code Requirements
Section 2.8 of the Ontario Fire Code requires "institutional" occupancies
(e.g. hospitals) to prepare and implement a fire safety plan that has been
approved by the Chief Fire Official. An institution must appoint, organize
and instruct designated supervisory staff to carry out the necessary fire
safety duties. There must also be sufficient supervisory staff available to
perform these duties. However, staffing levels are not stipulated in the
Fire Code. Staffing levels are determined according to the needs of an
institution, which vary from one facility to another. Therefore, an
individual assessment is required. Some of the factors that should be
considered include:
4.0 Factors that Impact on Staffing Levels
(a) Degree of Assistance Required for Occupant Evacuation
The degree of staff assistance required for occupant evacuation is
directly related to the degree and nature of occupant disabilities.
Facilities that house occupants with significant physical and cognitive
impairments require a greater number of staff to move them to a safe
location. A nursing home with a large number of bedridden residents places a
higher demand on staff than a similar home with elderly but predominantly
ambulatory residents. Likewise, a hospital surgical or recovery ward
requires more staff to assist in the evacuation of occupants than an
outpatient treatment ward in the same building.
(b) The Number of Occupants that Require Evacuation
Conditions in a particular facility may vary from ward to ward and from
floor to floor. Conditions may also vary over a 24 hour period. For
instance, in an active care hospital, a large number of patients on life
support systems or undergoing other critical medical treatment will be
located within the recovery suite during the day. This scenario will change
at night when the surgical ward is not in use. Accordingly, staff demand
will be lower than during the day when a larger number of critical patients
may need to be relocated.
The number of occupants requiring evacuation will also vary depending
upon the circumstances of the fire emergency. The fire safety plan should
consider scenarios based on the size of the fire compartments that are
likely to be involved. This will identify the number of occupants requiring
evacuation in the initial phase of the fire, and therefore, establish the
number of staff required.
(c) Building Construction and Fire Protection Features to Control the
Spread of Fire
Health care facilities that meet current Building Code and Fire Code
requirements provide a high degree of protection for their occupants.
Typical features found in such facilities include corridor and bedroom fire
separations, zone fire separations, protected exits and sophisticated fire
alarm and detection systems. Sprinklered buildings provide an additional
level of protection. These features, in conjunction with appropriate staff
actions, have a significant role in controlling the spread of fire. For
instance, timely release of zone fire separation doors will limit the spread
of fire and smoke to adjacent zones. Staffing levels can accordingly be
established in consideration of the effectiveness of such barriers in
limiting the extent of fire involvement.
(d) Level of Staff Training
Staff training is critical to ensure that proper actions are taken during
a fire emergency. Proper actions can prevent the rapid spread of smoke and
fire throughout a building. For instance, quick action to properly close and
latch the door to the room of fire origin will limit the amount of fire and
smoke that may spread into the corridor and adjacent rooms.
Staff training must also incorporate appropriate techniques and
procedures for the movement of nonambulatory, bedridden or severely ill
residents or patients. Special training may be required to ensure that
assistive devices which facilitate evacuation are utilized safely and
effectively. Techniques and procedures involving complicated medical
equipment should be restricted to professional staff, such as registered
nurses, who have appropriate medical training.
Facilities with comprehensive and ongoing staff training procedures will
benefit from an improved fire safety record. Well trained staff can also
carry out an evacuation more rapidly and efficiently thus minimizing the
demand on in-house and external resources.
(e) Other Actions Required of Staff under the Fire Safety Plan
Under the fire safety plan, staff in a particular area or ward of a
building may be required to carry out other duties elsewhere in the
building. This may prevent them from assisting in the evacuation of
occupants. For instance, certain supervisory staff may be required to
respond to the main entrance to receive firefighters. Occupant safety can be
seriously jeopardized when only one of two staff members is left to evacuate
the floor area. Minimum staffing levels for each shift should therefore be
established in consideration of other duties that may be required under the
fire safety plan.
5.0 Calculation of Staffing Needs
Assessing staffing needs to evacuate a particular facility requires a
systematic and coordinated approach. The assessment should be conducted by a
joint management and staff committee that has responsibility for disaster
planning. Familiarity and experience with the methods of evacuation are
important in arriving at reasonable estimates.
The following steps are typically followed to determine staffing needs
*:
1. Identification of Scenarios
Consider a number of probable fire scenarios based on building use and physical conditions. Determine staffing levels for each of these scenarios individually.
Example
During the night shift, a fire occurs in an electrical closet on the highest floor that houses both ambulatory and non-ambulatory patients. The extent of fire involvement requires the evacuation of one entire ward into an adjacent ward through a zone fire separation.
2. Data Collection
Collect data to evaluate the evacuation capability of the facility based on the identified scenarios.
Example
a. Number of ambulatory occupants requiring guidance but no
assistance (Type A patients).
b. Number of ambulatory occupants requiring assistance (Type B
patients).
c. Number of non-ambulatory occupants able to assist with transport
(e.g. swing carry) (Type C patients).
d. Number of non-ambulatory occupants unable to assist with transport
(i.e, dead weight) (Type D patients).
e. Number of staff on ward during the night shift that can assist in
evacuation (consider other duties under fire safety plan).
f. Number of staff in the building that can assist in evacuation
(consider other duties under fire safety plan).
3. Estimation of Evacuation Time
Estimate the time required to carry out the evacuation based on the identified scenarios. Specific actions should be timed to provide realistic estimates.
Example
Include the following when calculating the total Evacuation Time:
a. Time required to guide Type A patients to safe area.
(considerations: time to wake and gather patients, return trip time.)
b. Time required to assist Type B patients to safe area.
(considerations: time to wake and gather patients, coordinate staff efforts,
return trip time.)
c. Time required to evacuate Type C patients to safe area.
(considerations: time to move patients off beds and the method used, attach
necessary life sustaining devices, move to corridor, move to zone
separation, return trip time.)
d. Time required to evacuate Type D patients to safe area.
(considerations: number of staff required, time to move patients off beds
and the method used, attach necessary life sustaining devices, move to
corridor, move to zone separation, return trip time.)
e. Time required to perform other duties under the fire safety plan
(e.g. sounding of fire alarm signal, closing doors to patient sleeping
rooms, communicating with other staff, responding to main entrance to
receive fire fighters.)
f. Response time of additional staff required to assist in
evacuation.
4. Compare Evacuation Time to Target Time
Compare the estimated Evacuation Times for each identified scenario to a
Target Time. Target Times represent the maximum time periods in which
conditions within a space are assumed to be reasonably safe measured from
the time when a fire alarm detection device is first activated. These times
may vary from 2 minutes for a room up to 20 minutes for a ward assuming that
the fire can be effectively contained within the room. Appropriate Target
Times should be established in consultation with fire officials and fire
protection consultants taking into consideration factors such as fire
department response, construction and fire protection features of the
facility, and susceptibility of occupants.
Example
An Evacuation Time of 60 minutes is calculated to evacuate a ward.
This far exceeds the Target Time of 20 minutes therefore adjustments to the
fire safety plan are required. Adjustments may involve increasing the number
of responding staff, enhancing staff training, incorporating assistive
devices, reducing the number of non-ambulatory patients in the ward,
introducing additional zone separations to reduce travel time or increasing
the Target Time through enhancements of the existing fire protection
systems. For example, the installation of sprinklers would allow increased
time for evacuation due to the ability of sprinklers to effectively control
a fire.
6.0 Responsibility
Facility administrators are responsible for ensuring that adequate
resources are available to implement the fire safety plan. Mock drills
should be carried out to validate the plan as well as to establish the need
for additional staff training. The fire safety plan approval process allows
the Chief Fire Official an opportunity to assess the rationale used by the
owner. It may also be appropriate for fire department personnel to witness
or be involved with a mock evacuation to verify the suitability of the plan.
A periodic reassessment of staffing levels should be carried out to
account for occupancy and staff changes. Significant alterations or
renovations to a building that may either increase or reduce bed capacity
will also warrant a reassessment of staffing levels.
7.0 Additional Information
For additional information on this guideline, please contact your local
fire department or the Office of the Fire Marshal at (416) 325-3100.
* Table Top Evaluation for Evacuation Capability in Hospitals and Long Term Care Facilities/ Graf Jorg W. : Bolton Publishing, Sharbot Lake (ON); 1997
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