- Author
- Bryan, J. L. | DiNenno, P. J.
- Title
- Examination and Analysis of the Dynamics of the Human Behavior in the Fire Incident at the Magnolia Gardens Nursing Home on April 2, 1978.
- Coporate
- Maryland Univ., College Park
- Sponsor
- National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NBS GCR 80-211, July 31, 1978, 43 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Contract
- GRANT-79014
- Keywords
- fire departments | fire incident | nursing homes | nursing staff | patients | smoke | ceiling vents
- Abstract
- The fire incident at the Magnolia Gardens Nursing Home on April 2, 1978 was detected by the nursing staff at approximately 1510 hours. A member of the nursing staff noticed smoke issuing from a ceiling ventilation diffuser in the second floor lounge area. The facility has a capacity of 104 patients and 102 patients were registered at the time of the fire incident. The facility is a two story protected noncombustible construction fully sprinklered building. Upon the detection of the smoke in the second floor lounge area, the ten patients in the area were evacuated through smoke barrier doors to an adjacent area of the second floor. The patients involved were ambulatory or in wheelchairs. The nursing staff then notified the fire department by phone and activated the facility local alarm system. The facility emergency procedures were initiated, the fire department responded and determined the cause of smoke as an electrical motor failure. No smoke detectors or automatic sprinkler heads activated.