Code Red is used in all US hospitals as the universal signal of fire or smoke emergencies, which triggers immediate containment and evacuation measures to save lives of patients, staff, and visitors. This designation, which is not to be confused with Code Blue (cardiac arrest) or Code Triage (mass casualty), is standardized by The Joint Commission since 2000, and is used by 85% of the facilities. Code red, second floor east wing is announced on overhead pages, and staff mobilization and alarms and strobes are instantly activated.
Activation and RACE Protocol: Continuous tones are activated by the use of pull stations or smoke detectors. Rescue anybody in direct danger, Alarm through announcements, Contain through closing fire doors, Extinguish small fires or Evacuate. Nurses unhook oxygen (fire accelerant), take charts, roll beds to safe areas. None of the elevators–stairwells.
Staff Roles:The physicians lock the airways; the security seals exits; the housekeeping picks up extinguishers. First horizontal evacuation (two zones across), followed by vertical in case the smoke spreads. Containment is announced by Code Red Clear.
Patient/Visitor Response:Remain composed, go with staff of vested authority. Patients who are not mobile receive door tags. Wet cloths on mouths; gather at special parking lots. No re-entry until all-clear.
Prevention Systems: Sprinklers come on at 155 o F and compartmentalized walls restrict the spread. Mandatory quarterly exercises; no smoking in the country.
Code Red transforms care zones into fire bastions in a cost-effective manner: seconds of life are spared in the precision of the drills.