Operating-Room Fire Investigation Widens
Citing a widening investigation, fire officials said Thursday that they will not determine the cause of a fatal operating room fire at the UCLA Medical Center for at least several more weeks.
Inspector Ed Reed, a Fire Department spokesman, said investigators want to do “extensive testing” on all items in the operating room at the time of the fire, which contributed to the death of a 26-year-old traffic accident victim.
Among those items, he said, are oxygen tanks, equipment used to anesthetize patients, surgery drapes and an electrical cauterizer used to seal blood vessels, which investigators said earlier was a main focus of their probe.
Reed said investigators are also reviewing all operating-room procedures, and may make recommendations for changes when they determine the cause of the fire.
“We’re looking to see if any improvements can be made,” Reed said.
Reed estimated that the official cause would come in three weeks to a month.
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