Incidents of surgical fires are "significantly under-reported", according to The Joint Commission. More than half of surgical fires happen inside a patient's airway or on the patient's upper body; around 10 percent of surgical fires actually happen within the body cavity, and a quarter of surgical fires happen on other parts of the body. About 70 per cent are ignited by electrosurgical tools commonly known as Bovies, devices that use a high-frequency electric current to cut tissue or stop bleeding. 20 percent of fires are sparked by hot wires, light sources, burrs or defibrillators. Another 10 percent are touched off by lasers.