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Fire risk: assessment and management in long-term psychiatric patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Michael Phelan  and
Nigel Fisher
Michael Phelan
Affiliation:
PRiSM (Psychiatric Research in Service Measurement), Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AZ
Nigel Fisher
Affiliation:
Springfield University Hospital, 61 Glenburnie Road, London SW17 7DJ
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Many mental disorders are associated with an increased risk of fire setting. As a result, its assessment and management is an important part of the management of people with psychiatric disorders. As more patients are managed in the community, away from the protection of high levels of hospital staff and fire regulations, such assessments are vital to ensure appropriate and safe placement. The presence of fire regulations in hostels offers only limited protection. Further, as residences with four people or less are not subject to fire regulations, assessment by psychiatric staff may have to extend to the fabric of the placement. Despite psychiatric hostels tending not to accept patients who are ‘a fire risk’, figures suggest that fires in hostels are common. One health authority reported 26 fires in hostels over 12 months (Moxom, personal communication).

Type
Original articles
Information
Psychiatric Bulletin , Volume 17 , Issue 2 , February 1993 , pp. 86 - 88
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists 1993

References

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