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This article reports that adoption of precautionary measures to prevent patients from being set on fire in operating rooms across the country has been slow, often implemented only after hospitals experience an accident. Advocates say it's not clear how many hospitals have instituted the available protocols, and no national safety authority tracks the frequency of surgical fires, which are thought to injure patients in one of every three incidents. About 240 surgical fires occur every year, according to rough estimates. But fires may be underreported because of fear of litigation or bad publicity.