Fire!

As previously reported in Safely Speaking, while most employees don't think about them, hospital fires are a real threat. A report in the media described a hospital fire in Pinehurst, NC which started when "vapor from sterilizing fluid" ignited, causing minor first and second degree burns on a patient. Although the patient harm was minimal, the response from regulatory agencies was not: the hospital was placed on immediate jeopardy status from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), which is the most severe classification given for non-compliance, and can result in loss of ability to collect revenue from CMS. An article published over a decade ago by the US Fire Administration notes there are >2500 fires in health facilities every year.