NFPA 99 Amended to Address Elimination of Ignition Sources

​The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has issued a March 3, 2014, tentative interim amendment to its NFPA 99, Health Care Facilities Code. The revised material, which addresses the elimination of sources of ignition, specifies that all smoking materials (e.g., matches, cigarettes, lighters, lighter fluid, tobacco in any form) are to be removed from patients who are receiving respiratory therapy and that no sources of open flame are to be permitted in the expulsion area of a nasal cannula, or other oxygen delivery equipment, inside patient care rooms or in areas of oxygen administration outside patient care rooms.