Code red in the hospital: fire, from alarm to evacuation
Code red signals a fire. What the person who discovers it does, what happens on a care unit and the link with code green.
In the hospital, code red is the fire code. It is the code that the four facilities consulted define the same way.
What code red means
- CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (integrated health and social services centre): "Code red is used to signal a possible fire."
- CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, July 2019: fire
- CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal: fire
- CISSS des Laurentides, March 2024: fire
What the person who discovers a fire does
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale gives six instructions:
- Pull the manual fire alarm station
- Dial the emergency number in use at the facility
- Give as much objective information about the event as possible
- Move people away from the source of danger
- Close doors and windows
- Get ready to evacuate
The CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal adds to stay calm and not to shout fire.
On a care unit
In the hospitals and residential centres of the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, care unit staff:
- Start no non-urgent care
- Go to their unit's nursing station and check the annunciator panel
- Wait for instructions from the unit head
When "code rouge confirmé" (code red confirmed) is announced, staff get ready for an evacuation, listen for instructions on the overhead page and follow the unit head's directions.
In a CLSC or an administrative building
In the same CIUSSS, staff evacuate as soon as the alarm sounds. They stop their activities, guide patients to the exits, close the doors of their area and go to the assembly point.
Code red and code green
Code green signals evacuation. At the CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, evacuation can follow a code red, black, grey or brown. In hospitals and residential centres, evacuation is first horizontal, behind the fire doors, before moving to the stairs.
The patient care attendant and code red
On a care unit, the patient care attendant (PAB) is part of the staff covered by these instructions. The evacuation plan of their facility shows the exits, the fire extinguishers and the assembly point.
The other codes
Our articles on the other codes: code white, code blue, code pink, code purple and code yellow. All the colours are gathered in the table of hospital colour codes.
Did you like this article?
Thank you. It is anonymous, and it tells us what to write next.
Frequently asked questions
What is a code red in a hospital?
It is the fire alert. Staff raise the alarm, move people away from danger, close the doors and get ready to evacuate.
What are the hospital colour codes?
The CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale names eleven in its July 2019 leaflet: blue, pink, white, red, silver, black, brown, green, grey, yellow and orange. The list and the definitions vary from one facility to another. At work, the procedure of your facility is the only one that counts.
What is code red?
In Quebec's health network, code red means fire. The four facilities consulted give it that meaning.
What is a code pink?
At the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, code pink signals a paediatric cardiac arrest or a threat to life in a child.
Did you like this article?
Thank you. It is anonymous, and it tells us what to write next.
Sources
- CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Introduction aux mesures d'urgence, consulted on October 10, 2026
- CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, Mesures d'urgence, leaflet, July 2019
- CIUSSS de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Présentation des codes de couleur, consulted on October 10, 2026
- CISSS des Laurentides, Mesures d'urgence, quality sheet, March 2024