Photo: Tony Averbuch
This Fixed-it Friday news report definitely left me Wordless, but hey – it’s Friday, so here it is.
Officials discovered three instances of violations in Franklin Home, 24459 Bloomington Court, after a fire broke out near one of the showers around 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5.
The violations included a window that was screwed shut with three wood screws; an evacuation sign that labeled three exits to the home, even though there were only two; and one of the two exits, leading out to the back, was jammed by a chair that was screwed to the deck.
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Posted exit plans should be kept up to date, but I’m not sure what to say about the window, since windows that would open so as to allow someone to fall out can pose a safety hazard, and it would seem that if there were a need to create a passage through the window quickly firemen could have done so (while they spent some time removing two screws before smashing the window, they could have smashed the window from the get-go if the situation had been more urgent).
Of course, it’s the chair that’s really got me stumped.
If the chair has you stumped then maybe you should sit on the problem and think it over. (haha chair humor). But on a serious note, that’s bad.
I wish the US, would put people in jail, like other countries.
Who ever is responsible for using that should be fined enough money they would have to donate to a “chair-it-T!
I used to work in a group home years ago, we had an issue with windows in one of the houses. We added alarms to the windows so staff would know when the window was opened. Even though the window being able to function was a safety issue for a different reason there is no way someone should be able to screw a window shut.
Thanks Brandon. From a regulator’s standpoint, the code requirement is for an emergency ESCAPE and rescue window. It’s more to allow the residents to get out than for firefighters to get in. In many residences, the bedrooms are down a single hall than can be blocked by a single event at the egress end. Ability for a resident to self evacuate is critical.
Unfortunately, I see this type of violations too often.
I agree with John regarding the firemen taking time to “unscrew” the window, rather than break it from the beginning. It was not a huge fire, more so a small smoke filled bathroom fire. All residents were evacuated to safety and the staff who admitted to violating was fired on spot. However, to his defense, he thought he was protecting the clients by taking matters into his own hands and blocking the door with the chair to attempt to stop clients from walking off and harming themselves in the middle of the night. Its only so much staff can do and its hard to properly “monitor for health and safety” without the support of the community, being public safety and the core providers. The staff was afraid to call 911 because of all the complaints they made regarding staff and clients calling them for assistance. Not to condone his behavior at all, but its a catch 22 situation.