The methodology of fire risk management was applied in this research to investigate the risk the elderly in long-term care and nursing institution that may be encountered in case of fire, and then made an analysis on the risk treatment strategy. Finally, the suggestions about the concrete principles of improvement on space design, facilities and equipment for the existed institutions were proposed. The purposes were as the followings:
1.To focus on the examples of long-term care and nursing institutions for the elderly, to study and propose the appropriate items of fire safety and evacuation risk assessment for the accommodating occupants.
2.To develop the comprehensive guidance on fire safety management and provide those institutions for independent inspection reference.
Through the study of the comprehensive analysis and consolidation, it will have conclusions as followings：
1.Based on the features of the elderly long-term caring institution, it was summed up and obtained the fire and evacuation safety risk items, 5 categories and 38 items, for the use of self-check list.
2.Also, it were proposed the basic consideration items of evacuation options for the locomotion vulnerable occupants and the feasible items for evacuation plan which were suitable to be a part of guideline of fire and evacuation safety risk management.
3.All care institutions expressed their support or optimism regarding the inclusion of an autonomous checklist in the reference manual, and considered that it would be useful to conduct an independent checklist on fire and evacuation safety risk items to assess their own fire risks and vulnerabilities. Then it is believed that the checklist can help the owner or manager to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the organization itself and can improve the safety level in place.
4.In the recommendation about environment and building, the principle of spatial arrangement as “on-site evacuation, first evacuation and secondary evacuation” was proposed. In the recommendation about prevention of fire and smoke spread, it was suggested the provision of Article 99-1, Design and Construction Chapter, Building Technical Regulation is the appropriate to be used for improvement.
In addition, there were two immediate strategies recommended as followings:
1.For immediate strategy: To enhance the education promotion courses related to fire and evacuation safety for long-term care institutions for the elderly with the combination of assistance from ABRI, Ministry of Health and Wealth (MOHW), Construction and Planning Administration, National Fire Administration, Taiwan Architecture and Building Centre and the other Associations, such as National Association of Fire Protection Engineering, and Chinese Fire Protection Engineering’s Association Union.
2.For immediate strategy: To develop the research on improvement tutoring of the fire and evacuation risk of the existed long-term care institutions for the elderly. ABRI hope to unify MOHW to jointly promote the fire risk assessment concepts harmonized with building fire safety management regulations and provide the manager of care institution the guidance of improvement on the fire and evacuation risk.
3.For middle- and long-term strategy: To amend the evaluation index content of environmental safety maintenance items of the long-term care institution for elderly on project.