Evaluating an existing facility to see if it will support cancer mitigation strategies is not a complicated process. The most important factor to keep in mind is that generally speaking we are talking about processes, not individual efforts (See Part 1 of this discussion).
For instance, in the past few years a number of companies have developed SCBA Decontamination Washers. They are an easily defined piece of equipment and represent an important step in decontaminating equipment after a fire call. They are also part of the overall process of post fire call decontamination that includes PPE, SCBA and personnel, as well as potential sub processes that include inspection, maintenance and repair of the same SCBA equipment. While it would perform its function wherever you added it, it would perform that function much better if it were added into the process where that activity is best performed.
Ideally, to properly implement a Hot Zone design strategy, the individual steps in the decontamination process would flow in an ordered process moving from the contaminated Hot Zone through the decontamination processes in the Warm Zone and lead to the clean Cold Zone of your facility.
Part one of this series made the case for considering the purchase or implementation of cancer mitigation practices as the process that it is, rather than individual elements, and budgeting for the overall modifications needed to incur the greatest benefit. This piece is directed at the steps involved in laying out a design strategy to achieve the goal of an integrated Hot Zone cancer mitigation strategy.
Step one: Zone your building
This can be as simple as drawing chalk lines on the floor, to highlighters on a diagram of the buildings floor plan, or a more professionally drafted representation using readily available drawing programs. Identify the Hot Zone (equipment returning from a fire scene), the Warm Zone (where decontamination happens) and the Cold Zone (where only decontaminated personnel and equipment are allowed).
An important consideration will be mechanical ventilation. In a well-designed Hot Zone process, the Cold Zone and Warm Zone should be positively pressured compared to the Hot Zone to insure that contaminants remain in the Hot Zone or Warm Zone. In addition, having exhaust to the outside from the Warm Zone is important. These types of mechanical systems improvements might be possible by adjusting existing systems or with the addition of small roof-top supply and exhaust systems.
Step two: Define your decontamination processes
Generally speaking, these processes can be broken down into the following: General Equipment, PPE, and Personnel. Again, a simple line drawing that traces the path that each element follows as it goes from a ‘used’ condition returning from the fire call, through the decontamination process and is again ready for service. Are these paths simple and direct? Do they follow a reasonable path to achieve a defined goal? Do they eliminate crossing zones multiple times? Do they avoid backtracking or repetitive steps?
Step three: Identify solutions
If any of the paths from step two have become too convoluted in your facility, or perhaps you can’t even identify them, then look for ways to improve them. Some simple solutions to consider:
- Can space usage be reassigned. For instance, can a rarely used tool room become a gear laundry by relocating tools to locked cabinets on the apparatus floor? Don’t forget to think through plumbing and ventilation.
- Can a door be opened in a wall that connects the gear laundry with a bathroom/shower area to eliminate steps that backtrack from a warm zone to a hot zone?
- Can a pair of gender specific toilet rooms be combined to create a gender neutral decontamination steam/shower or IR Sauna space?
A fourth and final step could be to get professionals (architects or engineers) involved if any of the first three steps to identify facility changes of any magnitude, or require changes to plumbing, heating, ventilating or electrical systems. If the changes are simple, a local architect in the community can probably assist you. If you are reworking portions of the building to integrate one or more processes into a holistic approach, consider working with experts in fire station design, many of whom can be found through Firehouse and its Station Design conferences.
Design considerations surrounding cancer mitigation have wrought many changes in modern fire stations. The Hot Zone concept treats the entire decontamination process as a series of steps with a goal of providing required decontamination to equipment and people in a holistic and organized fashion. This does not mean that existing stations are necessarily obsolete, nor should you avoid implementing what cancer mitigation strategies you can afford. With proper consideration however, new policies and equipment can be added to your department in ways that embody the intent of these new concepts without compromising on the intended efficacy of those additions.
___
Michael Clark has been designing public safety facilities for over 35 years and has built a practice that focuses his passion for this field into a creative, innovative and problem-solving design firm. Find out more at www.amc-psc.com.
