A fire can occur during a defibrillation attempt because a spark can be generated in an oxygen-enriched atmosphere. Although the risk is small, a fire during patient care can have devastating effects. We describe a case of a fire attributable to a defibrillation attempt in a 10-day-old neonate following open-heart surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first published account of a fire during a defibrillation attempt in an infant or child. We review predisposing factors and preventive strategies, with special emphasis on the importance of removing oxygen from the immediate environment during defibrillation attempts.

Fire is a rare but potentially devastating complication of defibrillation attempts.1–3  Despite the severe consequences of patient fires, this risk is not mentioned in standard critical care4,5  or cardiology textbooks,6,7  presumably because of the paucity of clinical reports.1,8,9  We present a...

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