Major Internal Fires in Dutch Hospitals: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Hospital safety and disaster management.
• Public health and emergency preparedness.
• Healthcare facility risk assessment.

Background:

• Hospital fires pose significant risks, including disruption of care, patient evacuation, and potential casualties.
• Understanding the patterns and causes of hospital fires is crucial for improving safety protocols.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the characteristics of hospital fires in the Netherlands over a 20-year period (2000-2020).
• To identify the primary causes, affected areas, and consequences of these fires.

Main Methods:

• A systematic scoping review of news articles from 2000 to 2020 was conducted.
• Data sources included LexisNexis, Google, Google News, PubMed, and EMBASE.
• Fires associated with department closures or evacuations were analyzed for cause, location, department involvement, evacuation necessity, and casualties.

Main Results:

• Twenty-four major hospital fires were identified.
• Technical failures accounted for over half of the fires; patients were the cause in 25% of cases.
• Eighty-three percent of incidents required patient evacuations, and two fires resulted in patient deaths.

Conclusions:

• Patient-attributed fires represent a substantial cause of major hospital fires in the Netherlands.
• Targeted prevention and mitigation strategies are essential to address these risks.
• Findings underscore the need for continuous improvement in hospital fire safety measures.