Preventing Surgical Fires

Collaborating to Reduce Preventable Harm

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.1 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

Information About Surgical Fires

• Preventing Surgical Fires: FDA Safety Communication [ARCHIVED]
  10/13/2011
• Surgical Fires: How They Start and How to Prevent Them
  FDA video on Medscape.com
• How Fires Start
• About the Initiative
• Recommendations for Healthcare Professionals
• Information for Patients
• Consumer Update: FDA and Partners Working to Prevent Surgical Fires
• Initiative Partners
• Resources and Tools (Updated June 2015)
  Videos, checklists, posters and more
• Reporting Surgical Fires to FDA
• Webinar: Practical Advice for Preventing Surgical Fires - - Safety Strategies from the Front Lines (June 12, 2012)