Warning! fire in the ICU

Fabio Rispoli1, Michele Iannuzzi1, Edoardo De Robertis1

  • 1Department of Anesthesiology,Intensive Care,Hyperbaric Therapy and Pain Therapy,University of Naples Federico II,Naples,Italy.

At 5:30 pm on December 17, 2010, shortly after a power failure, smoke filled the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Federico II University Hospital in Naples, Italy, triggering the hospital emergency alarm system. Immediately, staff began emergency procedures and alerted rescue teams. All patients were transferred without harm. The smoke caused pharyngeal and conjunctival irritation in some staff members. After a brief investigation, firefighters discovered the cause of the fire was a failure of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).

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