Expert recommendation prepares for fire in care facilities

Berlin - From the structural situation to the hazards to possible reactions for care management and staff: the Joint Committee on Fire Prevention Education and Fire Safety Education of the German Fire Brigades Association (DFV) and the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) has worked up the topic of "Behaviour in case of fire in care facilities" with a technical recommendation.

"Offered is an easy-to-read guide that provides the necessary background information to be able to make the right decisions in time before a fire starts," explains Frieder Kircher, Chairman of the Joint Committee. The technical recommendation is intended to close the gap between the building regulations and technical codes on the one hand and the general recommendations for emergencies on the other. It is addressed to those responsible in the facilities - i.e. especially the operators.

"In the time from the discovery of a fire to the arrival of the fire brigade, the nursing staff are largely on their own and can do many things right if they are prepared for the emergency. This is where this expert recommendation should help!", says DFV Vice President Hermann Schreck. He thanks the members of the working group that prepared the expert recommendation: Willi Deml, Karlheinz Ladwig, Michael Gerhards, Wilfried Velten, Jörn Klaas, Ralf Höhmann and Lars Inderthal.

The technical recommendation includes the following areas, among others: Dangers of fire and smoke, special features in nursing homes, hospitals and similar facilities (structural requirements, safety installations, organisational measures), recommendations on how to behave in case of fire (keeping calm, containing the fire - closing doors, alerting the fire brigade, rescuing and evacuating, Fire fighting, Waiting for the fire brigade) and Preventive measures to support in case of fire (Preventing the development of fires, Condition of escape routes, Preventing the spread of fire and smoke, Training of fire protection and evacuation assistants, Providing aids for rescue and evacuation.

The technical recommendation can be downloaded from the DFV and vfdb websites:

https://www.vfdb.de/referat-12/publikationen/fachempfehlungen

https://www.feuerwehrverband.de/fachliches/publikationen/fachempfehlungen/