THE ASSESSMENT OF FIRE SAFETY

EVACUATION MANAGEMENT AT THE GENERAL

HOSPITAL PULAU PIANANG

NURUL ‘IZZATI BINTI MOHD ZOHADI

SUPERVISOR : ASSOC. PROF. DR. SR. ZAILAN SULIEMAN

 INTRODUCTION
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Hospitals are complex organisations wit
Hospital has the highest risk for
h many very sophisticated equipment,
fire as most of the equipment is
treating patients suffering various types
electrical equipment and there i
of complex illnesses, and engaging the
s much explosive and flammabl
services of a large number of health
e matter in the hospital.
professionals

According to State Health and Environment Committee chair

man Datuk Ayub Rahmat this hospital was built in the 1930s
and there was no requirement for the certification as the Unif
orm Building By-Law 1984 is only exist and required for the b
uilding that is built after 1984. (NST, 2016)
 INTRODUCTION
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Patients’ Safety in Hospitals

Hospitals are complex organizations with many sophisticate

d equipment, treating patients suffering various types of com
plex illnesses, and engaging the services of a large number
of health professionals. Patients’ safety has been increasingl
y emphasised, particularly, over the last two decades. This i
s an issue that has been taken up at national levels by Minis
tries of Health and at international levels by organizations lik
e the World Health Organization (WHO).
 INTRODUCTION
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Safety for patients and staff in hospitals is a fundamental issue in consideration

for quality. The standards for safety as prescribed by the relevant laws (building
and fire safety codes) should apply to Government hospitals.

Fire safety refers to planning and infrastructure in an organization that's designe

d to reduce fires and their effects. This can include things like built-in fire resista
nt infrastructure, preventive actions, and the presence of fire fighting equipment.
In general, compliance means conforming to the legal requirements, such as sp
ecifications, policies, standards or laws.
 INTRODUCTION
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These building and fire safety codes were used in the entire fire safety complia
nce process. However, it was found out that some acts were not enforced prop
erly in the hospital building, especially the government hospital building which
built before the establishment of the building and fire safety codes. (M.Z. Sulie
man and W.C. Ong, 2015).

Street, Drainage and Building (SDB) Act 1974 (Act 133) , Uniform Building By-
Laws 1984 (UBBL 1984), Fire Services Act 1988 (Designated Premises), Fire
Services (Fire Certificate) Regulations 2001, Occupational Safety and Health (
OSHA) Act 1994 (Act 514) & Regulations and Orders, Electrical Supply Act 19
90 (Act 447), Malaysia Standard, British Standard, National Fire Protection As
sociation (NFPA) and others.
Hospital Name Death / Injury Date
A fire at Neurology Institute, Kuala Lumpur Hospital 190 patients evacuated July 8, 1993
Power supply tripping in an elevator caused fire on first floor on Neur 50 patients and visitors evacu May 2, 2007
ology Institute, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. ated
Fire occurred in Mental Patient’s Isolation room at Hospital Kuala L 1 death (patient) July 30, 2011
umpur emergency department
A block of a new building at Sarawak 1 death (construction worker) Feb 15, 2014
General Hospital caught fire 151 patients evacuated
A fire broke out at the storage room of South ICU ward, Hospital Sul 6 died October 25, 2016
atanah Aminah, Johor 11 injured
100 evacuated
Faulty wiring (in cubicle or dividing wall between the beds) causes a 43 patients evacuated November 9, 2016
small fire in the ward 5B, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh
A small fire at the NICU ward, Hospital Shah Alam 36 patients (babies) evacuate February 15, 2017
d
A fire broke out at the linen room of 3 & 4 wards, Hospital Segamat 67 patients evacuated February 15, 2017
Short circuit causes a small fire in the ward 23, Hospital Sibu 1000 evacuated November 17,2017
Short circuit causes fire broke out at storage room of the National In Patient & staff from nearby bui March 17, 2018
stitute of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Kuala Lumpur lding evacuated
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
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Fire safety compliance in hospital is a serious issue because fire

hazard risks in hospital building is higher compared to other buil
ding.

Potential fire hazard sources and flammable materials can be e

asily found in the hospital buildings itself, such as faulty electrica
l circuits, poor electrical wiring & insulations, fabrics, medical eq
uipment, volatile combustive chemicals and so on. (M.Z. Suliem
an and W.C. Ong, 2015).
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
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During fire incidents in hospitals, immovable patients

are the most vulnerable as they are not able to evacu
ate the building by themselves without the help of oth
ers. Emergency evacuation of patients on mechanica
l life support such as oxygen supply systems, dialysis
machine is very challenging as medical equipment a
re typically not portable & bulky. (NYCTP, 2006; Taaff
e, Kohl, & Kimbler, 2005; Wei-Wen, Kuo-Hsiung, & C
he-Ming, 2011)
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
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The fire accident happened at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the sec
ond floor of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru dated 25 Oct
ober 2016 shocked the public regarding fire safety compliance of Gove
rnment hospital buildings.

In this accident, six patients were killed and 11 people were injured an
d it triggered evacuation activity of hundreds of others.

It is important to learn from this case because it can provide valuable l

essons and experiences to prevent a similar mistake from being happe
ned.
 PROBLEM STATEMENT
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Our Government is still developing on the latest set of rules and sta
ndards to ensure that the quality of fire safety compliance in Govern
ment hospital buildings is at par with the one in developed nations.

It is questionable now on how fire safety compliance in Government

hospital buildings are not up to the acceptable standard and why rel
ated law enforcement are not sufficiently enforced.

The purpose of this research is to assessment of fire safety evacuati

on management for existing Government hospital buildings in Malay
sia. The condition of fire safety compliance in Government hospital
buildings is significant to reduce fire accidents and damage to prope
rty and human life.
 AIM & OBJECTIVES
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AIM
Overall aim of this research is to ensure the government hospital building i
s complying with the law and regulation for fire safety evacuation
OBJECTIVES
Specific objectives of this research are:
1. To study the fire safety evacuation management in the general hospita
l Pulau Pinang – AFS/PFS/FSM (UBBL 1984,NFPA,FSA)
2. To evaluate the compliance code on the fire safety evacuation manage
ment of the general hospital Pulau Pinang. (UBBL (mean of escape –
exit, final exit, NFPA 101, PSM – maintenanne/ evuation plan
 LITERATURE REVIEW
• After a few accidents of fire that involve government hospital building, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subra
maniam said that most of government hospital need to be audit. (Kili 2016)
• “Lack of a proper evacuation plan and locked fire exits are some of the main fire risks plaguing our GHs.
If a proper fire safety plan was put in place through an audit, we can steer clear from future tragedies,” (Nam
biar 2016)
• The fire management plan defines how fire safety is being addressed and how the owner will manag
e fire safety in the buildings in terms of planning, emergency procedures and maintenance. It includes the
organization of the management staff who are involved in implementing the fire management plan and their r
esponsibilities.(Kelvin Hon-leung Wong 2014)
• Pickard (1994, p.8) who stated that “a fire safety strategy for a specific building needs management pol
icies and procedures to ensure the effective operation of the strategy”
• A good evacuation plan must take account for all types of occupants into consideration.(Tan C. W 20
04)
• (M. Kobes 2010) states that in the early stages of a fire, the people in a building typically have to either
rely on themselves, or be rescued by others in their immediate vicinity. The assistance of the professio
nal emergency services, for example in the form of rescue operations by firefighters and emergency treatme
nt by paramedics, can only be provided after the first and most important stage of a fire.
• Means of escape is to direct a shortest route to a place of safety, such as outside the building or of still
within a building, a protected or isolated passageway, stairs or refuge areas which lead to the outside of a b
uilding.(Bakar, 2011)
 METHODOLOGY
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Semi-structured Visual
Checklist
interview inspection
• Officers from • Observation on • Based on
BOMBA fire safety UBBL 1984
• Hospital evacuation part VII & VIII
visitors needs • NFPA 101
• FSA
• OSHA
DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS
CASE STUDY

• General Hospital Pulau Pinang

• Built on 1930’s
• Focusing on ward building which is
Block C
• 1090 bed in all blocks
 Travel
distance

Means of
escape
Exit

Fire safety evacuation

management
Emergency
Staircase
lighting

Signage Door
 Authority
Government
Hospital • provide training and advise financial assistance and i
Management nspection on the fire safety evacuation management
compliances
Hospital Management

Maintenance Authority
• provide the fire drill training for all occupants and pla
n and revise the fire safety evacuation plan
Contractor
Maintenance Contractor
• managing the maintenance of all fire safety equipme
nt and the housekeeping of fire safety evacuation ro
ute
 AFS/PFS/FSM
Description Yes No Comment
By-Laws 162 : Fire door in compartment walls and seperating walls /
Damage door cl
By-Laws 164 : Door closers for fire doors / oser
Unprotected stai
By-Laws 168 : Staircases / rcases
By-Laws 169 : Exit routes /
By-Laws 171 : Horizontal exits /
By-Laws 172 : Emergency exit signs / Not illuminated
By-Laws 173 : Exit doors /
By-Laws 178 : Exits for institutional and other place of assembly /
By-Laws 183 : Exit details for place of assembly /
By-Laws 185 : Gangways in place of assembly /
Obstructed with
By-Laws 196 : Smoke lobbies / extra bed
By-Laws 241 : Special requirements for fire alarm system /
By-Laws 242 : Fire fighting access lobbies /
By-Laws 243 : Fire lift /
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATION
• General Hospital Pulau Pinang need regular inspection on fire safety and
electrical appliances especially on old building.
• Authority need to provide sufficient finance and ensure the building have Fi
re Certificate.
• The hospital maintenance contractor need to ensure no obstruction at all h
allway and corridor.
• Weak awareness,
• Clear
• Provide another exits for ward
• Active ERT team
• Preventive maintenance for fire safety equipments.
• Weak management on fire safety at hospital level
CONCLUSION
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REFERENCES
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