What steps should you take if a patient on oxygen therapy experiences a fire risk or near-ignition?

What steps should you take if a patient on oxygen therapy experiences a fire risk or near-ignition?

• A. Immediately shut off oxygen if safe, move the patient away from the source, remove ignition sources, and follow fire safety protocols.
• B. Continue oxygen and use water to extinguish flames.
• C. Ignore the situation and wait for staff.
• D. Defer to patient to decide.

Answer: (A)

In a fire risk with oxygen therapy, the priority is to quickly remove the oxidizer and protect the patient. Oxygen-enriched environments turn even small flames into serious fires, so cutting off the oxygen supply removes the fuel that feeds the blaze. If it’s safe to do so, shut off the oxygen at the source to stop flow, then move the patient away from the flames or heat to a safer area. Next, eliminate ignition sources—turn off nearby electrical equipment, pipes, or any other potential sparks or heat sources that could ignite surrounding materials. After those steps, follow your facility’s fire safety protocols: alert others, activate the fire alarm, call for help, and evacuate or isolate the area as trained, ensuring patient safety throughout. Extinguishing a fire isn’t the immediate priority unless you’re trained and it’s safe to attempt, and simply continuing oxygen or ignoring the situation would allow the fire to grow.

In a fire risk with oxygen therapy, the priority is to quickly remove the oxidizer and protect the patient. Oxygen-enriched environments turn even small flames into serious fires, so cutting off the oxygen supply removes the fuel that feeds the blaze. If it’s safe to do so, shut off the oxygen at the source to stop flow, then move the patient away from the flames or heat to a safer area. Next, eliminate ignition sources—turn off nearby electrical equipment, pipes, or any other potential sparks or heat sources that could ignite surrounding materials. After those steps, follow your facility’s fire safety protocols: alert others, activate the fire alarm, call for help, and evacuate or isolate the area as trained, ensuring patient safety throughout. Extinguishing a fire isn’t the immediate priority unless you’re trained and it’s safe to attempt, and simply continuing oxygen or ignoring the situation would allow the fire to grow.