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INFERNO
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I had always wondered what would happen if a fire started while so many
patients were trapped on the dialysis machines. My answer had always been: It would
never happen; anyway, not to me.
It happened yesterday. Twenty-eight patients were on dialysis, reading,
sleeping,
watching T.V., their blood outside of their body, being cleansed by the
machine, when the fire alarm went off.
Before, we could totally dismiss it as one more false alarm, the unit
filled up with smoke. By the minute, the fume got denser and denser.
In less time it took to think about it, the nurses, the technicians
and I disconnected the patients from dialysers et tubing. We had no
time to return the blood; 1/5 or 1/4 of a liter, that is what they
would lose.
We grabbed them, guided them, carried them down the emergency exit
into the dark stair flights toward the small street behind the unit.
Thank God we are only on the second floor.
Then, I realized I forgot something. So, I went back through the smoke to the
first floor to make sure no one was still sitting in the waiting room or stuck in a
bathroom. I also to get into my office and rescued my bag and my leather coat... On my
way back, the smoke was so dense, I had to use another exit.
The patients were laid in the street, on the ground. They were
coughing, screaming, crying, praying. Chants of joy mixed with sounds
of hysteria. Sirens from ambulances and firefighters' trucks added to
the cacophony in the 21 degree weather. We were all cold, freezing, chilling.
A nearby meat business offered us its lobby. Not that neat, and
smelling meat. Thanks. We piled up in there....
The blaze did not do much damage. It was a mini fire with a major
smoke screen started one floor above ours by a welder. It was readily
put off by the firefighters.
The incident gave us the itch to think at what would have happened if
it was a real inferno and if we were on the 12th floor instead of the
2nd.
It also gave us a needy adrenaline rush. We were served with the
opportunity to demonstrate a genuine concern about the patients whose
care is entrusted to us.
It also revealed the solid bond between me and... my leather coat.
(OdlerRobert Jeanlouie, Tuesday, December 19, 2000)
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