NFPA Conference Features Surgical Fires Panel Discussion
The association's Health Care Section is sponsoring the June 11 panel.
The 2014 NFPA Conference & Expo will feature a panel discussion June 11 that will be of interest to firefighters, fire inspectors, and fire educators. NFPA's Health Care Section is sponsoring the session, which concerns fires in surgical settings. According to the association, the session is intended for a much broader audience than health care providers.
The panelists include Charles Cowles, assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Center; Gerald Healy, past president of the American College of Surgeons, of Harvard Medical School; and David Hood, president of Russell Phillips & Associates, a firm that is based in Fairport, N.Y., and is focused on helping health care organizations with fire and emergency management. During last year's NFPA annual conference, Hood was voted in as chair of the Health Care Section's Executive Board.
They will be addressing the unique aspects of operating room fire prevention, suppression, and response, including response by outside agencies and the importance of communication between responders and health care staffers before and during a surgical fire situation. "Surgical Fires – Prevention, Suppression, and Response" will begin at 11 a.m.
The conference takes place June 9-12 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, with the expo taking place June 9-11.