Local News in Brief : Oxygen Blamed for Cedar-Sinai Death
The flash fire that killed a 19-day-old boy undergoing surgery at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center was caused by escaping oxygen that was ignited by a spark from a cauterizing device, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department, which ruled the fire an accident.
Department spokesman Ed Reed said that the infant was breathing a 90% oxygen mixture but that the source of leak is still unknown. The premature infant, called Baby de Jesus, died Oct. 6 during heart surgery.
Both the small spark emitted by the cauterizer and the circumstances under which the operation took place were completely normal, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said.
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