INTRODUCTION

Overview

Safety is a priority at all times in the hyperbaric environment. Fire prevention is crucial to maintaining safety. Items that have potential to increase risk of fire via off-gassing, sparking, producing static, and/or generating heat when compressed are prohibited inside a hyperbaric chamber. 

Hyperbaric clinicians and patients should be educated on the prohibited item list. To comply with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, posters of the list with pictures should be placed in areas visible to patients prior to entering the chamber such as in changing/dressing rooms and on the outside of the hyperbaric chamber door. 

This topic provides signage that can be downloaded and posted to help meet compliance. For an updated decision tree, scoring system, and standardized evaluation process to identify and mitigate potential safety go/no go risks in the hyperbaric chamber environment, see topic "How to Assess HBOT Prohibited Items: The Go-No/Go Risk Assessment Tool and The Burman Scoring System". For an overview on safety in HBOT, refer to topic "Safety and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy". For sample Go-No-Go lists that can be used for reference only, see " Go-No-Go Lists / Prohibited Items". 

Background  

Definitions

• “Prohibited item” is an item that is needed and may be allowed in the chamber with caution, after a careful risk assessment is completed and risk mitigation strategies are in place (see blog article " Prohibited Items Vs Restricted?" 

Relevance

• According to the NFPA 99 and the UHMS Clinical Hyperbaric Facility Accreditation Manual the following standards should be met by hyperbaric facilities [1][2]:
• "HBOFP 6.0 : A sign cautioning against introducing prohibited materials inside the Class A multiplace hyperbaric chamber is posted at the chamber entrance."
• "HBOFP 7.0: Signs cautioning against introducing prohibited materials inside the Class B monoplace hyperbaric chamber are posted throughout the hyperbaric chamber room."