PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman says a 75-year-old woman suffered life-threatening injuries when the nasal tubing providing her with supplemental oxygen caught fire as she smoked a cigarette in her kitchen.
Spokesman Paul Corah says the unidentified woman pulled the nasal tubing off but not before her face was burned Wednesday. She also suffered from smoke inhalation.
The burning tubing also ignited a fire in the woman’s triplex. Damage was estimated at $20,000.
The spokesman tells The Oregonian that firefighters responded last December to two similar cases in which people were burned when their supplemental oxygen tubing caught fire as they smoked cigarettes. A woman died in one case.
