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Question

Difficulty: MediumAccident, Error, and Injury Prevention

While conducting hourly rounds, a nurse enters a client's room and observes smoke and small flames coming from an electrical outlet behind the bed. The client is bedbound and receiving supplemental oxygen. Arrange the following emergency actions in the order the nurse should perform them.

  1. 1Turn off the oxygen supply and evacuate the client from the room.
  2. 2Activate the nearest fire alarm pull station in the hallway.
  3. 3Close the door to the client's room.
  4. 4Attempt to put out the fire using an appropriate extinguisher.

Answer

The correct sequence follows the RACE protocol: Rescue the client, Alarm the facility, Confine the fire, and Extinguish the fire.
The correct sequence strictly adheres to the standard RACE protocol for fire emergencies: Rescue (remove clients in immediate danger), Alarm (activate the fire alarm), Confine (close doors and windows), and Extinguish (use a fire extinguisher if safe). Turning off the oxygen during the rescue phase is vital because oxygen heavily accelerates combustion.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Ensure the immediate safety of the client.
The oxygen is turned off and the client is moved out of the room.
Life safety of those in immediate danger is always the absolute highest priority in any emergency situation.
2
Alert the facility to the emergency.
The fire alarm is activated.
Notifying emergency personnel and other staff ensures a coordinated response and early arrival of the fire department.
3
Contain the hazard.
The client's room door is closed.
Closing doors drastically slows the spread of fire and toxic smoke to adjacent rooms and hallways.
4
Address the fire if possible.
A fire extinguisher is used.
Suppressing the fire is the final step, performed only when it is safe to do so without compromising the prior three life-safety steps.

Key Concept

Fire Emergency Response (RACE Protocol)
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Topics

Accident, Error, and Injury Prevention

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