NFPA Journal - Summer 2021 - 16

Dispatches
severely ill patients, while ... depriving oxygen
ventilation to those in critical condition for the
duration of the event, " the bulletin said.
While COVID-19 has led to an increased use of
oxygen in many hospitals, thereby increasing the
fire risk, experts say the root of the issue lies in a
lack of code use or compliance-the same factor
that's been driving the international hospital fire
problem since well before the pandemic gripped
the globe.

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

AIR HAZARD

OXYGEN-RICH ENVIRONMENTS ARE FUELING
FIRES AT COVID-19 HOSPITALS AROUND THE
WORLD, ACCORDING TO A EUROPEAN RESEARCH
GROUP. A LACK OF CODE COMPLIANCE REMAINS
THE UNDERLYING ISSUE.
By Angelo Verzoni
n April 24, at least 82 people died
and hundreds more were injured
when a fire tore through a hospital
treating COVID-19 patients in Baghdad, Iraq. Officials said the blaze
started after oxygen tanks exploded, the Associated Press reported.
The incident built on a deadly trend: As the
coronavirus pandemic has driven the need for
supplemental oxygen at hospitals worldwide, the
incidence of fires at these facilities has increased.
According to a bulletin released by the European
Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in January, oxygen-rich environments have played a role
in at least 20 fires at hospitals treating COVID-19
patients since the pandemic began in the spring
of 2020. Oxygen supplies stored in these facilities
have also been a factor.
" Although many hospitals successfully
responded to such incidents and avoided injury,
most events still required evacuation of staff and

DEADLY TREND
Patients with
severe cases of
COVID-19 rely
on supplemental
oxygen to remain
alive. According
to the European
Commission's Joint
Research Centre,
increased oxygen
use at hospitals
worldwide is contributing to a rise
in fires at these
locations.
GETTY IMAGES

More oxygen ventilators
in infectious units means
the oxygen concentration
is more readily elevated.
Given that these units
have a low air-exchange
rate with the outside
environment by design,
the potential for
a dangerous oxygenrich environment
is increased.

" Local building codes and international codes
and standards, such as those offered by NFPA, can
solve all these issues, " said Hemant Khadse, CEO
of India-based fire protection consulting agency
East Corp Group. " Societal awareness of codes and
code enforcement needs to improve. People are
reactive in nature, but they need to become more
proactive when it comes to life safety. "

Oxygen and other hazards
While oxygen itself is not considered a flammable
gas, it is an oxidizer, which means it can cause a
fire to spread easily and quickly.
Fires made worse by high levels of oxygen
in health care settings have been traditionally
associated with specialized areas such as operating rooms, where oxygen and other oxidizers
like nitrous oxide are administered routinely
to patients. According to a study published last
year in the journal Anesthesiology, " Emphasis
on oxygen delivery is critical not only because
of increasing flammability but also because of
increased rates of injury when operating close to
an oxygen source. "

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NFPA Journal - Summer 2021

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