During a fire alarm, which action should the charge nurse take first?

In the event of a fire alarm, the first action a charge nurse should take is to instruct staff to keep clients and visitors in their rooms with the doors closed. This response is crucial for maintaining safety and minimizing the risk of smoke inhalation and injury.

Keeping clients in their rooms helps to contain the situation and prevents panic, allowing for better management of the emergency. Closed doors can act as a barrier to smoke and flames, providing additional time for evacuation or response by emergency services. This approach prioritizes the safety of the clients and helps ensure that they are not exposed to immediate danger from the fire or smoke.

While alerting emergency services and assessing the extent of the fire are important steps in responding to a fire situation, they can come after the immediate safety of the clients is secured. Evacuating all clients immediately can lead to chaos and may expose them to greater risk if the fire is closer than anticipated or if smoke has already begun to spread through the area. Therefore, prioritizing client safety by keeping them in their rooms until further assessment is crucial in a fire emergency.