title: [Considering the current state of fire safety in Taiwan's care environment from the perspective of the nation's worst recent hospital fire].
abstract: Taiwan's worst hospital fire in history on October 23rd, 2012 at Sinying Hospital's Bei-Men Branch resulted in 13 elderly patient deaths and over 70 injuries. The heavy casualties were due in part to the serious condition of patients. Some patients on life-support machines were unable to move or be moved. This disaster highlights the issue of fire safety in small-scale hospitals that have transformed existing hospital space into special care environments for elderly patients. Compared with medical centers and general hospitals, these small-scale health facilities are ill equipped to deal properly with fire safety management and emergency response issues due to inadequate fire protection facilities, fire safety equipment, and human resources. Small-scale facilities that offer health care and medical services to mostly immobile patients face fire risks that differ significantly from general health care facilities. This paper focuses on fire risks in small-scale facilities and suggests a strategy for fire prevention and emergency response procedures, including countermeasures for fire risk assessment, management, and emergency response, in order to improve fire safety at these institutions in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fire Science, Central Police University, Taiwan, ROC. weiwen.tseng@gmail.com
authors.forename: Wei-Wen
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Chung-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Shen-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Chien
mesh_terms: D005390:Fires / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006268:Health Facilities / Q000592:standards; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012308:Risk Management; D012449:Safety; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: care environment; fire safety; hospital fire