Staff at a Nottinghamshire care home have been praised for the way they handled a fire which broke out in February. Managers at Hatzfeld Care Home in Blidworth were met with what the fire service described as a "significant fire with a large amount of smoke coming from one of the rooms".
Staff had attempted to extinguish the fire using a fire extinguisher but when the fire became too developed they followed their emergency procedures - calling 999 and evacuating residents to the nearby R.E.A.L Independent School as per their contingency plans.
Residents were made safe and no injuries were reported. Firefighters said the response from staff during the incident on the afternoon of February 21 avoided a more serious incident developing.
Read more: Air ambulance called to scene of medical emergency in Nottinghamshire town
Karen Kirk, fire safety inspector for Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We want to praise all the staff at Hatzfeld Care Home who acted quickly, professionally and in line with their well-established fire safety procedures.
“There were many vulnerable people involved and, without the professionalism of the care home staff and how seriously fire safety was taken by them, we could have been facing a much more severe incident."
The care home in Mansfield Road provides specialist support for adults with complex needs including alcohol-related brain disease, Asperger’s, Schizophrenia or eating disorders to age-related illness or dementia.
Staff at Hatzfeld Care Home carry out fire safety staff training every six months, as well as regular fire safety drills. This training and the confidence of the staff proved to be invaluable as they were assured in the actions needed to take during the incident.
Staff have also developed their own phone app, known as the Hatzfeld Care App2, which is accessible by all care staff. It provides information regarding care plans of residents and other pertinent information. This proved to be invaluable on the day of the incident as the 'grab bag', containing residents’ information, was too hot to touch from the heat of the fire.
During the incident, staff used Microsoft Teams, to maintain constant communication, passing on information regarding the safety and wellbeing of residents and staff, ensuring everyone was accounted for.
Ms Kirk added: “This fire highlights the importance of carrying out regular fire safety training with staff and ensuring there is a clear business contingency plans in place should a fire occur.
“We encourage all businesses to review their fire evacuation plan, their contingency plans and carry out regular fire safety training. More information can be found on Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service’s website.”
Crews from the Blidworth, Mansfield, Ashfield, Edwinstowe, Hucknall, Arnold and Highfields fire stations attended the incident. A police investigation into the cause is still ongoing.
Read next:
