|
Rubicon Research Repository >
Rubicon Foundation Archive >
UHMS Meeting Abstracts >
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3768
|
| Title: | HYPERBARIC CHAMBER FIRE IN PERU ON 2006 FEBRUARY 8: PROBABLE CAUSE AND SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS |
| Authors: | Butler, GJ
Hamilton Jr, RW
Chowdhury, B
Allen, MW |
| Keywords: | HBO
hyperbaric
equipment
monoplace
air
chamber
Fire |
| Issue Date: | 2006 |
| Abstract: | BACKGROUND: Use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) in South America is expanding dramatically. HBO2 is used for approved, investigational, and life-style indications. On February 8 an extensive hyperbaric oxygen chamber fire occurred in a monoplace chamber in a free-standing facility in Lima, Peru, causing one fatality. Our company was requested by the UHMS Peru Chapter to help authorities determine the cause of the fire and to provide equipment and training recommendations to help prevent such accidentMATERIALS AND METHODS: One of us (GJB) inspected the chamber site and interviewed some of the people involved; a government investigation is underway.RESULTS: We believe the chamber was compressed with air to 2.4 atm and the patient breathed oxygen by mask and exhaled into the chamber. The chamber was periodically ventilated with air, but oxygen level was not analyzed, and the intensity of the fire suggested that the content was close to 100percent oxygen. The patient's position and other evidence suggest that a speaker perhaps with a push-to-alert button may have been the source of ignition. This system was not approved for use in an oxygen-rich atmosphere; the Peruvian government has ordered the use of these and similar units discontinued. From our limited evidence we conclude at this time that high oxygen and electrical equipment not designed for oxygen service were the likely cause of the fire, but the investigation is continuinDISCUSSION: Many chambers in South America are manufactured there and are in free-standing, non-hospital clinics. High costs and limited reimbursement force operators to compromise safety. The most effective way to improve HBO2 safety in Latin America is to teach the hazards and how to avoid them. We recommend teaching both manufacturers and operators the concepts of chamber safety, in particular the principles covered in PVHO-1 and NFPA-99. |
| Description: | Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc. (http://www.uhms.org ) |
| URI: | http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3768 |
| Appears in Collections: | UHMS Meeting Abstracts
|
All items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved.
|
