When a fire starts to climb the wall and reaches the ceiling, 'E' stands for evacuation. He further explains that regular employees usually don't have enough training to handle any fire beyond incipient stage. And he feels time is critical when a fire reaches a ceiling because of how quickly it can grow. Bottomley says that all employees, regardless of whether they work in the hospital, learn both procedures. McCardle makes his hospital's staff review RACE as part of the facility's annual safety training.
Employees also demonstrate hands-on training with a water fire extinguisher at that time.
This provides an inexpensive practice tool for annual fire extinguisher training. Alerting other employees about a fire is a crucial step. If the pull station is at the other end of the hall, some other action might make more sense. Training and drills at Central Texas Medical emphasize the quick use of a code word when someone notices a fire or smoke. Any rescue cannot be delayed because of patient safety concerns, Miller adds.