Installing firebreaks is an effective step to reduce the medical and financial burden of home oxygen fires.
Around 100-150 people lose their lives in home oxygen fires every year
Firebreaks cost a few dollars to install and last for up to five years
More than 1000 people are treated for burns because of home oxygen fires each year
Home oxygen users in the U.S. are 19 times more likely to die in a fire than those in England, where firebreaks are mandatory
How firebreaks could help the home oxygen industry reduce the medical and financial burden of oxygen fires
With home oxygen fires causing more than 1000 burns per year,1 and complex burns cases racking up costs in excess of $1 million,2 these small devices are a smart, safe investment at just a few dollars each.
The home oxygen and medical gas industries are highly motivated to reduce patient risk wherever possible and are attempting to address the issue through patient education. Many providers install firebreaks as a matter of course, but without a regulatory mandate or reimbursement of installation costs, implementation remains inconsistent.
There are small steps in the right direction: the Veterans Health Administration (VA) issued a Patient Safety Alert in 2018, mandating firebreak installation.3 But this guidance only applies to 6-7% of patients. There are around 1.4 million home oxygen users in the U.S., up to half of whom may continue to smoke.4 With no comprehensive regulation on the horizon, it’s on us as an industry to take the lead.
How firebreaks could help the home oxygen industry reduce the medical and financial burden of oxygen fires
With home oxygen fires causing more than 1000 burns per year,1 and complex burns cases racking up costs in excess of $1 million,2 these small devices are a smart, safe investment at just a few dollars each.
The home oxygen and medical gas industries are highly motivated to reduce patient risk wherever possible and are attempting to address the issue through patient education. Many providers install firebreaks as a matter of course, but without a regulatory mandate or reimbursement of installation costs, implementation remains inconsistent.
There are small steps in the right direction: the Veterans Health Administration (VA) issued a Patient Safety Alert in 2018, mandating firebreak installation.3 But this guidance only applies to 6-7% of patients. There are around 1.4 million home oxygen users in the U.S., up to half of whom may continue to smoke.4 With no comprehensive regulation on the horizon, it’s on us as an industry to take the lead.
According to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 80601-2-69:2020) a thermal fuse device should be used with oxygen concentrators to stop the flow of oxygen in the event of fire. Firebreaks should be installed at the oxygen source and close to the patient, typically around the patient sternum where the cannula and oxygen supply tube joins.
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- Mastropieri et al. (2020), 18 Stop the Burn: A Smoking and Home Oxygen Safety Initiative with Use of Firebreaks, Journal of Burn Care & Research, 41(1):S15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/iraa024.022
- Paradigm (2018), The High Price of Burn Injuries, available at: https://www.paradigmcorp.com/news/the-high-price-of-burninjuries/
- Veterans Health Administration (2018), Patient Safety Alert, available at: https://www.patientsafety.va.gov/docs/alerts/INTERNET_AL18-01.pdf
- Wolff et al. (2016), Flash Burns While on Home Oxygen Therapy: Tracking Trends and Identifying Areas for Improvement, American Journal of Medical Quality, 32(4):445–452 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1062860616658343