1 Control the heat sources; 2 Manage fuels; 3 Minimize gas concentrations; 4 Drill the action plan; 5 Maintain safety; Overkill? We don't think so; Biomed-ical; Charge; Clean; Control; Drill; ENT; Electrocautery; Fire; Fire To; Instruct; John's; Keeping; Light; Lynda Simon, RN In; Maintain; Manage; Minimize; Nurses; PACU; Place; Put; RN In; Simon, RN In; St. John's; Vent; abdomen; absorbent; act; action; activation; active; addition; adverse; air; airway; alarm; all-clear; anesthesia; anesthesiologist; anesthetic; annual; apply; area; areas; arm; assumes; attached; avoiding; back; balance; bea... show all keywords1 Control the heat sources; 2 Manage fuels; 3 Minimize gas concentrations; 4 Drill the action plan; 5 Maintain safety; Overkill? We don't think so; Biomed-ical; Charge; Clean; Control; Drill; ENT; Electrocautery; Fire; Fire To; Instruct; John's; Keeping; Light; Lynda Simon, RN In; Maintain; Manage; Minimize; Nurses; PACU; Place; Put; RN In; Simon, RN In; St. John's; Vent; abdomen; absorbent; act; action; activation; active; addition; adverse; air; airway; alarm; all-clear; anesthesia; anesthesiologist; anesthetic; annual; apply; area; areas; arm; assumes; attached; avoiding; back; balance; beam; bed; begin; betadine; biomed; blister; breathing; build; building; built-in; burned; burning; call; carbonization; careful; carefully; carry; cases; catch; cautery; certify; changing; check; checking; circuit; circumstances; city; close; cloth; combustibles; complete; conditions; conjunction; construction; continue; continuing; controlling; controls; coordinate; cords; cuff; damage; dangerous; deftness; delicate; description; determine; developed; devices; difficult; direct; directed; directly; disaster's; disconnect; discretion; doors; drape; drapes; driest; dripping; dry; easily; edge; efficiently; electrical; electrocautery; electrodes; electrosurgical; emergency; employs; enables; endotracheal; ensure; equipment; estimated; evacuation; event; everyone's; examine; excess; extent; extinguish; extinguisher; facility; fair; fairly; fibers; field; final; fire; flame-retardant; flames; flammability; flammable; flash; foot; free; fuel; fully; gas; gases; gauze; general; generate; goal; good; great; ground; handpiece; heat; helped; hires; hold; holster; hurry; ignite; ignition; immediately; impact; impervious; important; includes; ingredients; inhale; injury; inspect; inspection; instituted; instrumentation; instruments; introduce; invasive; involving; irrigating; irritating; job; laser; lasers; lay; leading; left; leg; light; lime; lot; lubricant; lungs; manage; manager; manufacturers; market; marshal; materials; matter; meant; member; mindful; minimize; mock-up; mode; move; nature; neck; needed; non-explosive; non-reflective; nurse; operative; order; ounce; oxygen; pads; page; paper; patient; patients; percent; performing; person; personnel; petroleum-based; photographs; physician; piece; place; plan; plastic; pointed; policy; pool; pooled; potential; potentially; practices; pre-op; precautionary; prep; prepare; prepping; preps; presence; present; prevent; prevention; primary; proactive; procedure; procedures; prone; protect; protective; protocols; provider; proximity; pull; puzzle; quick; re-certify; reactions; reactive; ready; real; regular; regularly; remain; remove; removing; require; response; resulting; resume; return; roles; routine; rubbing; run; safe; safety; saline; scavenger; scrub; seals; segments; services; settings; severity; side; sign; sinuses; site; smoke; smoldering; soda; solution; sources; sparking; sponge; spot; squeeze; stabilize; staff; standardize; standby; start; steps; stick; strategies; stray; stress; suddenly; sufficient; suite; supplemental; surgeon; surgery; surgical; switch; system; systems; tact; taking; tank; target; team; terrify; time; tip; tissue; toes; tourniquet; towels; tracheal; training; transfer; treated; treating; tube; tuck; turned; type; unplug; valves; ventilating; visits; visually; volatile; wait; watch; water; wet; work; working; worst-case
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Fire prevention has become second nature to the surgeons, anesthesia providers and staff at our ENT center, where many procedures require the use of supplemental oxygen and electrocautery or a laser in the nasopharynx. To a certain extent, this is a good thing. But the delicate balance between routine procedure and surgical fire can tip disaster's way in an instant, and I don't want their deftness to become complacency. So I've instituted five strategies that keep us mindful that the ingredients for a surgical fire are ever present. 
