33 Queen Square
Fire Alarm and Evacuation Procedure
33 Queen Square is a building of nine storeys including basement and ground
floor levels. There are two protected escape staircases and a Fire lift which can be
used for evacuation of wheelchair users.
This building is classified as being ‘Healthcare Premises Out-patient areas and as
such patients and staff are required to evacuate the building.
When the fire alarm is activated, staff are to investigate the area that they are
responsible for and close any doors to areas that have been checked.
33 Queen Square is equipped with;

Automatic fire detection and alarm system – including: manual call-points,
heat and smoke detection.

Fire alarm manual call points found in escape routes leading out of
departments and into staircases.

Fire fighting equipment strategically placed throughout the building.
This buildings fire alarm system is programmed to respond in the following way;
a continuous tone in the compartment of origin of the fire and an
intermittent/pulsing tone elsewhere in the building.
Continuous tone
All areas:

Investigate the alarm activation to see whether it’s a fire or false alarm.

Evacuate ambulant patients and staff not involved with fire safety
procedures.

The person in charge of each department should identify if any members
of the department are missing this may involve checking each consultants
room (if safe to do so) and inform the Response Team/Security Guard who
will be located in reception near the fire alarm panels.

Move wheelchair bound patients to the 1st Refuge Point (if not being
affected by fire), inform the security guard/fire response team in reception
of all relevant information and employ the ‘Buddy System’ by leaving a
competent person with the wheelchair user.

Only use the 2nd refuge point if the 1st Refuge point is unavailable and
again inform reception.
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
Do not overcrowd Safe Refuges; no more than two wheelchairs can be
located in any Refuge. If there are more than two chairs required in a
Refuge, downwards evacuation should be considered.

If there is a requirement to evacuate patients from Safe Refuges, the
escape lift and evacuation equipment is available.
For your information:
UCL & Trust staff have a responsibility to remove all patients from the building
if a total evacuation is deemed necessary.
Intermittent Tone
All areas:

Prepare to evacuate (if required).

Send a competent member of staff into the adjacent floor/zone to gain
information on the alarm actuation.

Close windows and doors if safe to do so.

Reassure patients and visitors as all visitors are the responsibility of the
Trust/UCL and (if required) should be told to leave the building.
The Fire Assembly Point is located in Queen Square Gardens.
Safe Refuges

A safe refuge point is provided on each floor level on each staircase.

If a member of staff is disabled (including temporally due to illness or
injury) a PEEP should be undertaken by their line-manager.
For your information:
An escape lift is located next to the staircase in Queen Mary Wing and can be
used for escape purposes. However if the fire alarm is also sounding in Queen
Mary Wing, the lift will not be available because it grounds.
Alerting Procedure

At this moment, the fire alarm system in 33 Queens Square is monitored
by security staff in Queen Square House, who will alert or send the
response team to the site.

The monitoring staff will also telephone 999 to request the London fire
Brigade to attend site.

The Response Team is available 24/7.
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Fire Response Team

The team will respond to the fire alarm and if time allows before the
arrival of the Fire Brigade, investigate the actuation (if safe to do so).

They will report back via radio to the security desk/reception.

If deemed safe to do so the alarm can be silenced (not re-set) until the
arrival of the fire brigade.
Fire Fighting Equipment

Fire fighting equipment is positioned strategically throughout the site to
cover the risk.

Please familiarise yourselves with there location.

Read the operating instructions.

Know what type of fire extinguisher to use on what type of fire.

It should be remembered; fire extinguishers should only be used by
trained personnel. You are not fire-fighters and fire extinguishers are only
provided to effect your escape if necessary.
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Patient Evacuation
A place of safety within the building should be reached by:

Moving the patients away from the source of the fire into adjoining safe areas.
Fire staircase and floors below the level of the affected area must be considered as
the “penultimate” place of safety.
Open air, clear of the effect of fire, must be regarded as the “ultimate” place of
safety.
In the event of fire necessitating the full evacuation of patients and staff:

Patients should be evacuated in the first instance to an adjoining area or away
from immediate danger of fire and smoke and then open air.

Non-ambulant patients should in the first instance be placed in Safe Refuges
adjacent to the Fire evacuation Lift. They can then be taken to a place of total
safety using the lift, starting with the patients closest to the fire.

If for some reason the lift is not available, evacuation equipment should be used
to move non ambulant patients down one of the ‘protected staircases’.
There are two types of evacuation employed in a patient environment:
a) Acute:

where occupants are forced to withdraw from fire or the effects of fire
to a place of immediate safety
Staff should move patients and visitors to the first place of safety, as quickly as
possible. Patients nearest to the affected area and most in danger should be moved
first. Wherever possible, staff should work in pairs.
b) Precautionary:

where occupants are in no immediate danger of fire or the effects of
fire, but it is thought prudent to move patients to another area of the
hospital where the nursing process can be continued and safety levels
guaranteed
Staff should have identified those patients requiring either total or partial assistance
to evacuate, and what rescue equipment, such as evacuation Albac
mats/Evacuation chairs should be made available to them.
Staff should generally evacuate patients to a place of safety in the following order:

ambulant patients

semi-ambulant patients

non ambulant patients
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