Inside Jacobi’s Burn Unit: The city’s only public hospital burn center
If victims inhale heavy smoke, they may be taken to Jacobi’s hyperbaric chamber — the state’s only 24-hour public facility — for carbon monoxide treatment.
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A car explosion in the Bronx sent a massive fireball through the street earlier this month, injuring seven firefighters and sending several of them to Jacobi Hospital’s burn center — the only public hospital burn unit in New York City.
Hana Lopez Quinones, director of the unit, says her team mobilizes the moment they’re alerted.
“We’re the only burn unit associated with the HHC system,” she said.
Doctors then prep pressure-water equipment and perform head-to-toe assessments before treating burns.
If victims inhale heavy smoke, they may be taken to Jacobi’s hyperbaric chamber — the state’s only 24-hour public facility — for carbon monoxide treatment.
Nurse practitioner Nikolas Petesic says the high-pressure oxygen therapy can prevent organ damage and brain injury.
“Bronx residents are really lucky to have something like this in their backyard, this level of care,” he said.
Still, doctors urge New Yorkers to check their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to prevent emergencies like this.
“Anything that we can do prevention wise in the home to protect ourselves and to protect the people around us, I think is really, really important,” Lopez Quinones said.
In 2024 the Jacobi Burn Center treated 626 patients, 188 were children.
For more information on how to prevent burns, including inside the home, visit ameriburn.org.
