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Toolkits

Surgical Fire Prevention

Surgical fires are rare. But when a surgical fire does occur, the outcome is catastrophic.

In most cases, surgical fires are preventable. However, the entire surgical team’s participation in education and mitigation is crucial to decreasing surgical fire risks. All team members should:

  • Participate in a fire risk assessment
  • Be able to identify the three elements of a fire triangle
  • Maintain open communication during surgical procedures
  • Immediately address any issues that arise during a surgical procedure
  • Understand their role in the surgical team
  • Be prepared to handle a surgical fire if one should occur.

This toolkit provides resources and tools to assist your organization in creating and reviewing surgical fire prevention policies and procedures.

Toolkit Materials

  • Webinar: Surgical Fire Prevention

    This 2019 webinar raises awareness of potential hazards that lead to surgical fires. Director of Patient Safety Caroline Stegeman discusses best practices and prevention tools that can be implemented to reduce surgical fire risks.

  • FDA Recommendations to Reduce Surgical Fires and Related Patient Injury

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends these best practices to reduce the risk of fires occurring during surgical procedures.

  • TJC Sentinel Event Alert: Preventing Surgical Fires

    The Joint Commission (TJC) sentinel alert examines surgical fire risk reduction strategies and prevention recommendations.

  • AORN: Fire Prevention Assessment Protocol

    AORN recommends completing this fire prevention assessment protocol prior to any surgical procedure. The protocol also contains interventions based on the assessment and surgical procedure.

  • OR Fire Prevention Algorithm

    The APSF encourages surgical staff members to use this OR fire prevention algorithm poster, posting it in highly visible areas of the surgical suite.

  • OR Fire Prevention Poster

    The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) provides quick tips on how to prevent surgical fires.

  • Anesthesiology Journal: Operating Room Fires

    This 2019 article from the peer-reviewed publication Anesthesiology provides information on operating room fires.

  • AORN: Comprehensive Surgical Checklist

    The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)’s comprehensive surgical checklist offers recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and The Joint Commission (TJC).

  • AORN: Duties of Perioperative Team Members in a Fire

    This resource by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) provides a detailed list of defined responsibilities for OR staff members if a surgical fire occurs.

  • AORN: How to Plan an OR Fire Drill

    This Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)-produced resource provides instructions to assist surgical staff members in planning and conducting OR fire drills.

  • AORN: Fire Risk Assessment Tool

    The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) fire risk assessment tool is recommended for use during the time-out process prior to surgical procedures.

  • AORN: Fire Drill Scenarios

    The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) discusses 12 different fire drill scenarios that may be used for conducting fire drills in the surgical area.

  • AORN: Fire Drill Evaluation Tool

    The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) provides a useful fire drill evaluation tool for use by healthcare facilities.

  • ASPR TRACIE: Surgical Fire Risk Assessment

    ASPR TRACIE gives healthcare providers access to many fire risk assessment tools that can be utilized by surgical areas.

  • Universal Protocol and Fire Risk Assessment

    This fire risk assessment tool is embedded in the universal protocol process that should be conducted prior to surgical procedures.

  • Duke University Medical Center: Laser Safety Policy

    This sample laser safety policy was created by Duke University Medical Center.

  • AST: Guidelines for Best Practices in Laser Safety

    The Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) presents a guide on laser safety best practices.

Online Resources