Cancer survivor set on fire by hand sanitizer

Eleven-year-old Ireland Lane burst into flames while recovering in a hospital room at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore. Deputy State Fire Marshal Dan Jones confirmed that an "extremely unusual" mix of hand sanitizer, olive oil and static electricity caused the fire.

Ireland had been in the hospital because she lost consciousness at school and hit her head. She was scheduled to leave the hospital the day of the fire.

Ireland was transported to Legacy Oregon Burn Center, where they discovered burns from her belly button to her chin, on parts of her arms and the bottom of her ear lobes. She also singed her hair. She suffered third-degree burns and is expected to have multiple skin grafts. About 19 percent of her body was burned.

Ireland had been diagnosed with a rare childhood kidney cancer in 2007. She was in remission after beating the cancer twice in five years.

Ireland Lane had used an ethyl alcohol-based hand sanitizer at Doernbecher Children's Hospital, according to the fire marshall. Her father Stephen Lane also told The Oregonian that she used the hand sanitizer to clean off a table she had been using when she painted a wooden box for the hospital's nurses. She also rubbed some hand sanitizer on her shirt.

Olive oil was also used on Ireland that day. Olive oil is sometimes used to remove the glue that holds electrodes to the scalp for an EEG exam. According to the report obtained by The Oregonian, the olive oil had been combed through Ireland's hair as well and was dripping on her shirt. She also wiped some of the oil onto her clothing.

Ireland had recently learned about static electricity and apparently was trying to create static sparks in her bed by scuffing her feet and rubbing the bed linens. A fire marshall said a static charge likely ignited fumes from the hand sanitizer and burned Ireland's olive oil-saturated cotton shirt.

Her father Steven Lane told The Oregonian that his daughter did not remember being on fire. "She still has bad dreams, but she doesn't recall the actual incident, which from my perspective is very good," Steven told The Oregonian.

Patients sometimes use olive oil to remove the glue that holds electrodes to the scalp for an EEG exam if the patient is allergic to the common compound that is used, a hospital spokesman told The Oregonian.

"We are no longer suggesting the use of olive oil for patients who have an allergic reaction to EEG gel remover," Dr. Stacy Nicholson, hospital physician-in-chief, said after the findings were announced. "In addition, while our placement and use of hand sanitizer meets industry standards, we plan to review our procedures to see if there are any additional adjustments we can make to promote safety."

The hospital will also be looking at its evacuation procedures and policies based on the fire marshal'??s recommendations, CBS affiliate KOIN in Portland, Ore. said. The Oregonian reported that the hospital staff did not enact a "code red" page for the building when the fire took place, and other patients in the areas that were affected by smoke were not evacuated.

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