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Major Internal Fires in Dutch Hospitals: A Scoping Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2025

Brett C.A. van Stekelenburg Open the ORCID record for Brett C.A. van Stekelenburg [Opens in a new window] ,
Vincent W. Klokman ,
Edward C.T.H. Tan  and
Dennis G. Barten Open the ORCID record for Dennis G. Barten [Opens in a new window]
Brett C.A. van Stekelenburg
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, The Netherlands
Vincent W. Klokman
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Jeroen Bosch Hospital, Den Bosch, the Netherlands
Edward C.T.H. Tan
Affiliation:
Department of Trauma Surgery and Emergency Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Dennis G. Barten*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, VieCuri Medical Centre, Venlo, The Netherlands
*
Corresponding author: Dennis G. Barten; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objectives

Fires are among the most feared incidents that can occur in a hospital. Hospital fires will disrupt care continuity, may require the evacuation of patients and have the potential to result in injuries or even deaths. The aim of this study is to gain insight into hospital fires in the Netherlands over a 20-year period.

Methods

Systematic scoping review of news articles mentioning hospital fires in the Netherlands retrieved from the LexisNexis database, Google, Google News, PubMed, and EMBASE between 2000 and 2020. Hospital fires were included if they were associated with the closure of hospital departments or intervention units and/or evacuations. The cause, location, involved departments, need for evacuation, and the number of casualties were evaluated.

Results

Twenty-four major hospital fires were identified. More than half of these were caused by technical failures, and in 6 cases (25%), the fires were attributed to patients. In 71% of the incidents, acute care departments were affected by the fire. Twenty fires (83%) resulted in the evacuation of patients. In 2 cases, the fire resulted in the death of a patient.

Conclusions

Patient-attributed fires are a significant cause of major hospital fires in the Netherlands. Prevention and mitigation measures should be implemented accordingly.

Keywords

critical caredisastersdisaster medicinefiresrisk management
Type
Research Letters
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 18 , 2024 , e337
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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