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Published: September 30 2013

Collaborating to Reduce Preventable Harm

Courtesy of Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation

Surgical fires are fires that occur in, on or around a patient who is undergoing a medical or surgical procedure. An estimated 550 to 650 surgical fires occur in the United States per year, some causing serious injury, disfigurement, and even death. Despite the fact that the root causes of surgical fires are well-understood, surgical fires still occur. Many healthcare organizations have developed tools, implemented strategies, and conducted education and outreach efforts to reduce the risk of fires. To supplement these efforts, FDA and its partners launched the “Preventing Surgical Fires” initiative to:

• increase awareness of factors that contribute to surgical fires
• disseminate surgical fire prevention tools
• promote the adoption of risk reduction practices throughout the healthcare community