Fire incidents in Bed-head panels: Causes and recommendations for prevention.

Abstract

Disaster incidents leading to massive obliterations often bring to the forefront the inadequacies of the systems, infrastructure as well as personages. In healthcare settings, these imperfections are usually exhibited specifically during fire disasters. This case report details a true fire incident that erupted in a patient bed-head panel of an emergency complex room and describes the real-life challenges encountered by the emergency staff in preserving both life and property. Bed-head units encompass both electrical and medical gases: a structural component quite common in modern hospitals. Precautionary measures should be implemented to mitigate such incidents, as well as specific attention, should be made during the designing and installation of these bed-head panels. Better coordination, scheduled training, and fire drills can improve the overall outcomes and minimize the possibility of these potentially fatal problems, thereby, making a safer healthcare environment for every worker and patient.