My youngest had ear tubes put in for the third time today. I dropped our oldest off at preschool and then headed to the hospital. I needed to stop by the restroom on the way, and started to take care of my business. All of a sudden, I hear an alarm go off, then the one in the bathroom went, and the light on the fire alarm was flashing. I knew my wife and child were just down the hall, so I finished up hurriedly, grabbed my crutches and headed out the door. Yes, I said crutches. A few weeks ago I broke my foot at a tae kwon do testing and have been hobbling around with crutches and a cam boot ever since. A fire door had closed right outside the restroom, so I headed for it when a voice behind me said, "Hey, you can't open that door!" I replied to the nurse I saw, "My family is in there." Her response was, "That's a fire alarm, you can't open that door." I simply said, "I'm going to be with my family" and proceeded to go through the door. Found my family and everyone was fine, as I expected.

My instinct when I heard the alarm was that I needed to make sure my family was okay, and if they weren't, to do what I could to get them to safety.

I don't think there's much that could have kept me from going through that door. Somewhere in the back of my mind a tiny voice said, "Screw your rules, I have to protect my family!"

I don't know what my point is exactly. It weighed on my mind several times today and I just thought I'd share the experience.

Sounds like a nurse needs more education on how fire spreads and what those doors are for.

This is the problem when people don't wish to understand the world around them and blindly follow rules/orders.

I would have done the same thing, although I'd be more likely to obey a nurse than a doctor in that situation <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I probably would have done what you did. But, modern fire alarm systems only close fire doors if the smoke detectors on either side of the door detect smoke. Otherwise, they remain open to make evacuation easier. Sounds like the hospital's fire alarm system is older, or it did not function correctly. BTW, I assume that you felt the door first for heat before you opened it, just in case there was fire on the other side.

Anytime the fire alarms go off ANYWHERE in our hospital, ALL the fire doors close. It's a new system. It's configured that way.

Give the nurse a break, folks. My bet is that she did exactly what she was trained to do. I further bet that the training (regardless of our opinions... regardless of any exceptions..) was exactly what Fire Risk Managers wanted her to do.
That being said, If I feel I understand the situation better than someone like the nurse... I'll use my best judgment. I'm betting that before just reacting to his need to be with his family and protect them... Ors considered whether going through the fire door was apt to increase risk. If so, great. If not, he made a mistake!

Good point. I had just been coming down that hallway before entering the restroom. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed smoke billowing from that hallway. <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Well, the local fire marshall is the authority having local jurisdiction (ALJ), and can change or ignore most anything in the fire code. There is probably a good reason, based upon design or construction. I am not a fire marshall, but it seems logical to me to use the fire doors to contain the smoke, fire, and heat in the danger area, and not close the fire doors in non-danger areas, to allow easier evacuation. Our City buildings go through a rigorous annual test, including the fire doors. It is interesting to note that usually something will not work right every year, and require minor repair and retesting.

I cannot imagine the nightmare for fire fighters caused by a fire taking hold in a hospital. Around here, fire alarms without follow-up calls to 911 confirming a fire get a single engine response. But the local hospital gets three engines, one truck, one rescue, and one BC every time.

In our hospital, all hallway smoke doors close automatically when any pull station is activated anywhere in the hospital.

We are trained again and again and yet again that during a code red
to clear all hallways of equipment and visitors as it's not safe to have people wandering around in the halls during a fire.

People don't think and get on elevators, blunder into the area where the fire is or become wanna be heros and generally get underfoot of the people trained to deal with it.

I'm a nurse and it is my job is to protect my patients and visitors. If I've got someone wandering around the hallways during a fire, they are my responsibility because they are in my facility.

When the fire marshall orders evacuation of a floor, I have to account for everyone on that unit patients and visitors alike.

I can't account for someone if they're wandering around.

Don't confuse power tripping with a sense of responsibility.

I wasn't there, so yeah, I guess I shouldn't have made a comment. However, in my limited experience on this planet, more people don't care to understand the complete world around them, and usually do or say things that aren't intelligent. We all know nurses are smart, or else they wouldn't be working in hospitals (I hope). But alot of people just do what they are told, NOT trying to find out the logic and reasoning behind what they were told. Unfortunately, sometimes in todays word you have to say things that are stupid to protect yourself from liability.

Anyway, the fire doors are there to prevent the spread of the fire between the two areas. They are usually held open by electromagnets. When the alarm goes off, the magents are turned off. If there is a loss of power they will also close. They are "automatic" so that individuals in the building don't have to run around closing them. They can concentrate on getting people out. If there is no fire on either side, it can be opened without a problem. Someone should always ensure the door is shut behind them though or it won't be effective. Maybe the nurse should have said "shut the door behind you." That would seem more intelligent.