CMSCG Life Safety Consultant Jim Houle requested that we alert New York and Connecticut-based nursing facilities about several recent nursing home fires. Thankfully, staff were able to swiftly address all fire and smoke events quickly, but these types of events could occur in any facility. Recent concerning events include:
- Cell phone fire (lithium battery) in a resident room (NYC) – The resident was talking on the phone while it was plugged into the charged and the phone caught fire. Facility staff used an extinguisher to put the fire out. The Department of Environmental Protection had the facility place the phone in a hazardous container and have it removed by a certified company
- Cell phone smoking in resident room (NYC) – A cell phone was observed with smoke coming out of it. Staff intervened by throwing the phone into water prior to smoke detector activation.
- Oxygen concentrator fire in a resident room (Long Island) – This concentrator was part of a recall due to the unit type causing several fires across the US to date.
- Oxygen concentrator smoking in resident room (Long Island) – Cause was not determined for this event, but staff used a fire extinguisher to put it out.
- Dryer fire (Connecticut) – Sprinklers were activated when a dryer caught fire.
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Jim Houle recommends the following:
- Provide education to all staff regarding these recent nursing home events.
- Provide information on lithium batteries which are in cell phones to staff, residents and their families. We are providing resources from the NFPA below for facility use during Resident Council, fire drills and other opportunities as appropriate.
- Check all concentrators for an active recall. We are providing an FDA notice for a concentrator recall for your reference (not necessarily in use in the above event)
- Verify staff are trained on the proper use, positioning, cleaning and maintenance of concentrator units per the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Verify that cleaning and maintenance are conducted at the appropriate frequencies.
- Ensure your staff are aware of the unique distance requirements for the concentrators in use in your facility. The distance recommended by manufacturers regarding distance from a wall or curtain can vary as much as 3 inches or as far as 12 inches.
Note that several nursing homes in New York were cited in 2020 for not ensuring staff followed manufacturer’s guidelines on the use of the concentrators and not ensuring staff were trained. Given the uptick in these types of events, there is a potential that this will end up on the surveyors’ radars soon.
Resources:
View the NFPA “Charge into Safety” Lesson Plan on Lithium-Ion Battery Safety here.
View the NFPA Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Sheet here.
View the FDA Recall here.
