MARION - A 65-year-old Energy woman who suffered injuries from a Sept. 2 flash fire in a Heartland Regional Medical Center operating room died six days later at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn.

Janice Diane McCall died from thermal burns, according to a state of Tennessee death certificate that has not been officially stamped and entered into a state ledger, said attorney Robert Howerton of Marion, who has been retained by the McCall family.

A news release issued by the hospital on Tuesday said the accidental fire was immediately extinguished by operating room personnel. No other injuries were reported.

Howerton said he had not yet received any requested medical records or other documents pertaining to the incident.

Marion Fire Chief Jack Reed said he visited with hospital administrators on Wednesday morning after he got word of the incident through news reports.

The flash fire, the origins of which have yet to be determined, occurred during the Sept. 2 surgery, Reed said.

"It may have involved a hospital gown she had on. We don't know what may have flashed the fire on or within the patient," Reed said.

Reed said he has spoken with administrators, and early reports indicate the flash fire lasted from 10 to 15 seconds in a very small area. Flash fires are brief and not sustained, consuming whatever fuels them very quickly, Reed said.

The chief said he along with hospital administrators will be reviewing the hospital report process, which will include statements from hospital staff present in the operating room.

"We will try to ascertain the origin of the fire and what fueled it," Reed said.

Calls to the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday seeking comment were not returned.

Howerton said the McCall family was "very grief stricken" over Janice McCall's death.

"She was the center post for that family," Howerton said.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which accredits 17,000 hospitals nationwide, estimates between 100 and 200 fires ignite each year in hospital operating rooms.

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com / 618-351-5076