RACE and PASS: the fire safety acronyms for nurses

RACE tells you what to do when you find a fire: Rescue, Alarm, Confine, Extinguish. PASS tells you how to use a fire extinguisher: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. The two fit together. PASS is how you carry out the E of RACE.

Sources checked 18 October 2026.

RACE: what to do when you find a fire

StatPearls spells out RACE as rescue, alarm, confine and extinguish. Many hospital fire plans make the E "extinguish or evacuate", and some use "contain" for the C. They are the same steps in the same order.

PASS: how to use a fire extinguisher

Discharge the extinguisher within its effective range, which is printed on the label. Back away once the fire is out, in case it flares up again.

When to fight the fire and when to leave

• Fight a fire only if it is small and in its earliest stage.
• Sound the alarm first, so help comes even if the fire spreads.
• Keep your exit behind you, where fire, heat and smoke cannot block it.
• Leave at once if the fire grows or the extinguisher runs empty.

Oxygen and the fire triangle

A fire needs three things: fuel, an oxidizer and a source of ignition. Hospitals have all three close together. Oxygen and nitrous oxide are oxidizers, so a fire near oxygen burns faster and hotter. Clients on oxygen should not smoke or use candles, and equipment that can spark stays away from oxygen.

Which extinguisher

Most hospital units have multipurpose ABC extinguishers, which work on all three. Never use water on an electrical fire. Learn where the extinguishers and alarm pulls are on your unit before you need them.

How the NCLEX tests RACE and PASS

• Order questions. Rescue comes first when a client is in danger. If nobody is in danger, the alarm comes first.
• Confine means doors. Close them. Do not open windows, and do not use elevators.
• Aim low. The base of the fire, not the flames.
• Oxygen. It does not burn, but it makes everything else burn faster.

Other safety pages: medical and surgical asepsis, code blue and other hospital emergency codes, and the nursing mnemonics worth learning.

Practice questions

1. Question 1Multiple choiceSafety and Infection Control
   A nurse opens a client's door and sees smoke and flames coming from a wastebasket beside the bed. What should the nurse do first?

   Move the client out of the room, away from the fire.Pull the nearest fire alarm.Use the fire extinguisher on the wastebasket.Close the door to the room.
   Check answer
2. Question 2Multiple choiceSafety and Infection Control
   The nurse has moved the client to safety and activated the alarm. What is the next action?

   Close the doors to the room and the corridor.Open the windows to let the smoke out.Take the elevator to get more help.Go back in and collect the client's belongings.
   Check answer
3. Question 3Multiple choiceSafety and Infection Control
   The nurse picks up a portable fire extinguisher to put out a small fire. What is the first step?

   Pull the pin.Aim at the top of the flames.Squeeze the handle.Sweep from side to side.
   Check answer
4. Question 4Multiple responseSafety and Infection Control
   Which actions are correct when a nurse uses a portable fire extinguisher? Select all that apply.

   Keep a clear exit behind you.Aim at the base of the fire.Leave at once if the fire grows or the extinguisher runs empty.Aim at the tallest flames first.Fight the fire before anyone sounds the alarm.
   Check answer