Charissa 
Investigations into a deadly fire at the Gabriel House assisted living home in Fall River Massachusetts found that the fire started in a room where an oxygen concentrator and smoking materials were present.
Writing in the March 2026 issue of HME News, Ray Reynolds Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Home Oxygen Therapy Fire Working Group argues that with around 1.5 million Americans relying on home oxygen therapy, the fire risk it carries remains one of the most overlooked in home health care.
BPR Medical has reinforced its commitment to oxygen fire safety in the United States as Safoura Sardari, Sales Director at BPR Medical attended the recent IAFC Fire & Life Safety Section (FLSS) Leaders Board Meeting to discuss the latest developments surrounding the company’s Firesafe cannula valve (thermal fuse) and ongoing UL Validation of Claim process.
Despite a recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) not to create a unique reimbursement code (HCPCS) for thermal fuses – safety devices designed to prevent fatalities and injuries in the event of a fire involving home oxygen – the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) remains committed to its campaign to promote broader adoption of these life-saving devices.
South Dakota has become the latest state to approve Medicaid reimbursement for bidirectional thermal fuses, joining Iowa, Washington, North Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri in taking action at state level to protect home oxygen patients from home oxygen fires.
The approval means that home medical equipment providers (DMEs) in South Dakota can now be reimbursed for supplying the devices.
In September 2025, 17 representatives of the fire safety, burn care and academic communities — including burns victims and survivors of home oxygen fires — wrote to the CMS calling on it to reconsider the decision.
Despite a recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) not to create a unique reimbursement code (HCPCS) for thermal fuses – safety devices designed to prevent fatalities and injuries in the event of a fire involving home oxygen – the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) remains committed to its campaign to promote broader adoption of these life-saving devices.
Kansas has joined Iowa, Washington, and North Dakota in covering thermal fuses via their state Medicaid programs, while Missouri now requires oxygen providers to supply the devices.
Following a public hearing, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is now expected to make a decision on funding bidirectional thermal fuses in January.