Burn Safety

Take precautions to prevent injuries & dangerous situations.

Every day, 435 children ages 0 to 19 are treated in emergency rooms for burn-related injuries and two children die as a result of being burned. Burn safety is a foreign concept to most young children. In fact, one of the most difficult lessons young children learn is that some things — such as stoves, radiators and flickering flames — can be painfully hot. If children play with matches or lighters, the threat can extend to the entire family.

Cooking safety starts with YOU; Pay attention to fire prevention!

The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) — the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week™ for more than 100 years —has announced “Cooking safety starts with YOU! Pay attention to fire prevention TM” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 8-14, 2023. This year’s focus on cooking safety works to educate the public about simple but important steps they can take to help reduce the risk of fire when cooking at home, keeping themselves and those around them safe. 

According to NFPA, cooking is the leading cause of home fires, with nearly half (49 percent) of all home fires involving cooking equipment; cooking is also the leading cause of home fire injuries. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires and related deaths. In addition, NFPA data shows that cooking is the only major cause of fire that resulted in more fires and fire deaths in 2014-2018 than in 1980-1984.

To learn more about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Cooking safety starts with YOU! Pay attention to fire prevention,” visit FPW’s Website > >.

Source: National Fire Protection Association; Sparky.org

How to stay safe in the Kitchen:

Always keep a close eye on what you’re cooking. For foods with longer cook times, such as those that are simmering or baking, set a timer to help monitor them carefully.

Clear the cooking area of combustible items and keep anything that can burn, such as dish towels, oven mitts, food packaging, and paper towels.

Turn pot handles toward the back of the stove. Keep a lid nearby when cooking. If a small grease fire starts, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the burner.

Create a “kid and pet free zone” of at least three feet (one meter) around the cooking area and anywhere else hot food or drink is prepared or carried.

Scald Burn Prevention

Did you know 47% of all home fires are caused by cooking? Hot Liquids Burn Like Fire!

Preventing a scald burn injury is always better than the pain and trauma of medical treatment afterward.

Follow these prevention tips:

  • When bathing a child, be sure to run your hand through the water to ensure there are no hot spots that could cause injury.
  • Never hold a child while drinking hot liquids to avoid an accidental spill.
  • Avoid a dangerous balancing act. Never hold a child while carrying hot foods.
  • Keep your child safe. Never hold a child while cooking to avoid a scald injury.
  • Establish a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet (1 meter) around the stove and areas where hot food or drinks are prepared or carried.
  • Warning: Handle with Care! Microwaved food can be hot enough to cause a burn. Always open lids away from your body.
  • When taking food out of the oven, always wear oven mitts to prevent scald injury.
  • Use a tight-fitting lid with travel mugs to prevent a burn if the cup tips over.

Source: American Burn Association

  • The best time to cook is when you are wide awake, and not drowsy from medications or alcohol.
  • Always wipe clean the stove, oven, and exhaust fan to prevent grease buildup.
  • Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.
  • Keep a pan lid and dry potholders or oven mitts near you EVERY time you cook.
  • Turn the pot or pan handles toward the back of the stove.
  • When heating food in the microwave, use microwave-safe cookware that allows steam to escape.
  • Allow food to rest before removing from the microwave.
  • When frying, use a pan lid or splash guard to prevent grease splatter.
  • Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave, turn off the stove.
  • If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly. Remain in the home while food is cooking and use a timer to remind you to check on your cooking.
  • After cooking, check the kitchen to make sure all burners and other appliances are turned off.

Source: American Burn Association 

If your food DOES catch on fire…

  • Cover the pan with its lid. A cookie sheet works too. Leave covered until the pan is cool. NEVER move the pot or carry it outside – the pot is too hot to handle, and the contents may splash, causing a severe burn.
  • Turn the heat off. With the lid on and the heat off, the fire should quickly put itself out. NEVER use water to put out a kitchen fire. Water will cause the oil to splatter and spread the fire or scald you as it vaporizes.
  • If the fire is inside the oven or microwave, keep the door shut and turn it off. Keep closed until the oven is cool.
  • If the fire gets out of control- get out, stay out and call 9-1-1. Don’t return inside for any reason.

Source: American Burn Association 

Taking precautions IN your home

Did you know: Ordinary everyday things in and around your home (such as bath water, food, electrical outlets, firewood, mulch, leaves, debris, and other materials) can increase risks of fire and burns?

Follow these safety tips to prevent burns in the home:

  • Prevent burns from scalding water. Check water heater temperature. Set your water heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Infants who aren’t walking yet can’t get out of water that may be too hot, and maintaining a constant thermostat setting can help control the water temperature throughout your home—preventing it from getting too high.
  • Reduce water temperature. Set the thermostat on your hot water heater to below 120 F (48.9 C). Aim for bath water around 100 F (38 C). Check the temperature of the bath water with your hand before putting your child in the bath.
  • Avoid hot spills. Don’t cook, drink, or carry hot beverages or foods while holding a child. Keep hot foods and liquids away from the table and counter edges. Don’t use tablecloths or placemats, which young children can pull down. Turn the handles of your pots and pans toward the rear of the stove and use backburners when possible. Don’t leave the stove unattended when you’re cooking.
  • Establish ‘NO’ zones. Block access to the stove, fireplace, space heaters, and radiators. Don’t leave a child unattended in a room when these items are in use.
  • Keep hot devices out of reach. Store items designed to get hot, such as clothes irons or curling irons, unplugged and out of reach.
  • Test food temperature before feeding young children. Be careful with food or liquids warmed in a microwave, which might heat foods unevenly. Never warm a baby’s bottle in the microwave.
  • Choose a cool-mist vaporizer. They prevent steam burns.
  • Address outlets & electrical cords. Cover unused electrical outlets with safety caps. Keep electrical cords and wires out of the way so that children don’t pull on or chew on them. Replace frayed, broken, or worn electrical cords.
  • Choose fire-resistant fabrics. Check labels to make sure mattresses and pajamas meet federal flammability standards.

Take precautions AROUND your home

Create a Wildfire Ready Plan – Be prepared to protect your home, family, pets, and neighbors!

Follow these safety tips to reduce the risk of wildfire in your community:

  • Watch grills, firepits & campfires. Never leave them unattended.
  • Avoid backyard fireworks. Don’t let children play with or near fireworks or sparklers.
  • Stay connected to your neighbors & lend a helping hand. Encourage your neighbors to get prepared for wildfire, help create a joint action plan, and lend a helping hand where needed.
  • Remove all flammable items within 5 feet of your home’s edges. Create a non-flammable perimeter around your home by removing flammables like mulch, dead vegetation, lawn furniture, firewood stacks, etc.
  • Harden your home against embers. Reduce ember entry and penetration by screening exterior vents with a 1/8-inch metal mesh and keeping gutters clear of leaves and debris.
  • Remove flammables in your yard and maintain lawns and native grasses. Within 30 feet of your home, keep your lawn lean and green and remove flammables like firewood and other debris.
  • Prune trees & manage vegetation in your yard. Trim branches that overhang your home. Remove plants containing resins, oils, and waxes, such as arborvitae and juniper trees. Maintain vegetation in well-spaced groupings.
  • Inspect and/or replace your roof. If you have a wood roof, replace it with Class A fire-rated materials. Even if your roof is fire-resistant, regularly inspect it for loose or missing shingles and replace it as needed.
  • Make a plan & test it! Put together an emergency supply kit and evacuation plan, and then practice it with your household.
  • Support your local fire district. Install reflective address signs with 4-inch lettering to help first responders save lives during wildfire incidents and medical emergencies. And, if you can dedicate your time, sign up to volunteer with your local fire district!

Source: Wildfire Ready Neighbors (wildfireready.dnr.wa.gov)

 

For more information on Outdoor Burns, visit: hiprc.org/campfire-safety.

Use caution when handling fireworks

While fireworks may be tempting to light, researchers and doctors say the injuries resulting from fireworks have the potential to be life-altering. Injuries resulting from mortars and shells tend to be MORE SEVERE resulting in amputations, or even permanent blindness.

Fireworks fire & injury facts:

  • In 2021, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 11,500 people for fireworks-related injuries; over half of those injuries were to the extremities and 35% were to the eye or other parts of the head.
  • Children younger than 15 years of age accounted for almost one-quarter (23%) of the estimated 2021 injuries. These injury estimates were obtained or derived from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2021 Fireworks Annual Report.

To help prevent injuries from fireworks:

  • Make sure children stay a safe distance away from a lit firework
  • DO NOT allow children to play with or light fireworks, including sparklers
  • Only light outdoors & keep a bucket of water handy to extinguish fires
  • Never use fireworks while impaired by drugs or alcohol

If you light fireworks:

  • Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before lighting or using
  • Use ONLY (legal) consumer-grade fireworks
  • Wear protective eyewear
  • Attend public firework displays — leave lighting fireworks to the professionals & watch safely at a distance

Source: National Safety Council (NSC) and NFPA’s Fireworks Fires and Injuries report

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning

Carbon monoxide, or “CO,” is an odorless, colorless gas that can kill you.

CO is found in fumes produced any time you burn fuel in cars or trucks, small engines, stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, gas ranges, or furnaces. CO can build up indoors and poison people and animals who breathe it. Everyone is at risk for CO poisoning. Infants, the elderly, people with chronic heart disease, anemia, or breathing problems are more likely to get sick from CO. Each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires, more than 20,000 visit the emergency room, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized.

The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are:

  • headache
  • dizziness
  • weakness
  • upset stomach
  • vomiting
  • chest pain
  • confusion

CO symptoms are often described as “flu-like.” If you breathe in a lot of CO it can make you pass out or kill you. People who are sleeping or drunk can die from CO poisoning before they have symptoms.

In your home:

  • Install a battery-operated or battery back-up CO detector in your home. Check or replace the detector’s battery when you change the time on your clocks each spring and fall. Place your detector where it will wake you up if it alarms, such as outside your bedroom. Consider buying a detector with a digital readout. This detector can tell you the highest level of CO concentration in your home in addition to alarming. Replace your CO detector every five years.
  • Have your heating system, water heater, and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year.
  • Do not use portable flameless chemical heaters indoors.
  • If you smell an odor from your gas refrigerator have an expert service it. An odor from your gas refrigerator can mean it could be leaking CO.
  • When you buy gas equipment, buy only equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency, such as Underwriters’ Laboratories.
  • Make sure your gas appliances are vented properly. Horizontal vent pipes for appliances, such as a water heater, should go up slightly as they go toward outdoors, as shown below. This prevents CO from leaking if the joints or pipes aren’t fitted tightly.
  • Have your chimney checked or cleaned every year. Chimneys can be blocked by debris. This can cause CO to build up inside your home or cabin.
  • Never patch a vent pipe with tape, gum, or something else. This kind of patch can make CO build up in your home, cabin, or camper.
  • Never use a gas range or oven for heating. Using a gas range or oven for heating can cause a build up of CO inside your home, cabin, or camper.
  • Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal – red, gray, black, or white – gives off CO.
  • Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors. Using a gas camp stove indoors can cause CO to build up inside your home, cabin, or camper.
  • Never use a generator inside your home, basement, or garage or less than 20 feet from any window, door, or vent.
  • When using a generator, use a battery-powered or battery backup CO detector in your home.

For your vehicle:

  • Have a mechanic check the exhaust system of your car or truck every year. A small leak in the exhaust system can lead to a buildup of CO inside the car.
  • Never run your car or truck inside a garage that is attached to a house even with the garage door open. Always open the door to a detached garage to let in fresh air when you run a car or truck inside.
  • If you drive a car or SUV with a tailgate, when you open the tailgate open the vents or windows to make sure air is moving through. If only the tailgate is open CO from the exhaust will be pulled into the car.

What if myself (or someone in my home) is deaf or hard of hearing?

Make sure your smoke and CO alarms meet the needs of all your family members – including those with sensory or physical disabilities.

Install smoke alarms and alert devices that alert people who are deaf or hard of hearing (these devices include strobe lights that flash to alert people when the smoke alarm sounds).

Pillow or bed shakers are also designed to work with your smoke alarms (these work by shaking the pillow or bed when the smoke alarm sounds).

These products can be found online or in retail stores that sell smoke alarms and CO alarms. Be sure to choose smoke alarms and accessories for people who are deaf or hard of hearing that are manufactured by a qualified testing laboratory.

It’s also good practice to sleep with your mobile phone and your hearing aids or implants close to your bed.

Follow these additional steps to ensure the safety of your household:

  • Install a bedside alert device that responds to the sound of the smoke and CO alarms. Use of a low frequency alarm can also wake a sleeping person with mild to severe hearing loss.
  • Sleep with your mobility device, glasses, and phone close to your bed.
  • Keep pathways like hallways lit with night lights and free from clutter to make sure everyone can get out safely.

Source: National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA)

What you do to treat a burn in the first few minutes after it occurs can make a huge difference in the severity of the injury.

Immediate Treatment for Burn Victims

  1. “Stop, Drop, and Roll” to smother flames.
  2. Remove all burned clothing. If clothing adheres to the skin, cut or tear around burned area.
  3. Remove all jewelry, belts, tight clothing, etc., from over the burned areas and from around the victim’s neck. This is very important; burned areas swell immediately.

First-degree burns involve the top layer of skin. Sunburn is a first-degree burn.

Signs:

  • Red
  • Painful to touch
  • Skin will show mild swelling

Treatment:

  • Apply cool, wet compresses, or immerse in cool, fresh water. Continue until pain subsides.
  • Cover the burn with a sterile, non-adhesive bandage or clean cloth.
  • Do not apply ointments or butter to burn; these may cause infection.
  • Over-the-counter pain medications may be used to help relieve pain and reduce inflammation.
  • First degree burns usually heal without further treatment. However, if a first-degree burn covers a large area of the body, or the victim is an infant or elderly, seek emergency medical attention.

Information Courtesy: Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Fire Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, Smokey for Kids

Second-degree burns involve the first two layers of skin.

 Signs:

  • Deep reddening of the skin
  • Pain
  • Blisters
  • Glossy appearance from leaking fluid
  • Possible loss of some skin

Treatment:

  • Immerse in fresh, cool water, or apply cool compresses. Continue for 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Dry with clean cloth and cover with sterile gauze.
  • Do not break blisters.
  • Do not apply ointments or butter to burns; these may cause infection
  • Elevate burned arms or legs.
  • Take steps to prevent shock: lay the victim flat, elevate the feet about 12 inches, and cover the victim with a coat or blanket. Do not place the victim in the shock position if a head, neck, back, or leg injury is suspected, or if it makes the victim uncomfortable.
  • Further medical treatment is required. Do not attempt to treat serious burns unless you are a trained health professional.

Information Courtesy: Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Fire Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, Smokey for Kids

A third-degree burn penetrates the entire thickness of the skin and permanently destroys tissue.

Signs:

  • Loss of skin layers
  • Often painless. (Pain may be caused by patches of first- and second-degree burns which often surround third-degree burns)
  • Skin is dry and leathery
  • Skin may appear charred or have patches that appear white, brown or black.

Treatment:

  • Cover burn lightly with sterile gauze or clean cloth. (Don’t use material that can leave lint on the burn).
  • Do not apply ointments or butter to burns; these may cause infection
  • Take steps to prevent shock: lay the victim flat, elevate the feet about 12 inches.
  • Have person sit up if face is burned. Watch closely for possible breathing problems.
  • Elevate burned area higher than the victim’s head when possible. Keep person warm and comfortable and watch for signs of shock.
  • Do not place a pillow under the victim’s head if the person is lying down and there is an airway burn. This can close the airway.
  • Immediate medical attention is required. Do not attempt to treat serious burns unless you are a trained health professional.

Information Courtesy: Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Fire Administration, American Academy of Pediatrics, Smokey for Kids

For more information, visit:

 

SLIDE DECKS

National Burn Awareness Week 2023 – (PDF)

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INFOGRAPHICS

National Burn Awareness Week

Hot Liquids Burn Like Fire – (JPG) | (PNG)

Establish a Kid-free Zone – (JPG) | (PNG)

Never Hold a Child While Cooking – (JPG) | (PNG)

Check Baths for Hot Spots – (JPG) | (PNG)

Use Tight-fitting Lids – (JPG) | (PNG)

Always Open Lids Away from Your Body – (JPG) | (PNG)

Wear Oven Mitts – (JPG) | (PNG)

Never Hold a Child While Carrying Hot Foods – (JPG) | (PNG)

Never Hold a Child While Drinking Hot Liquids – (JPG) | (PNG)

 

Fireworks Safety

Have a SAFE & HAPPY 4th of July – (PDF) | (GIF) | (PNG) | (JPG)

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FACT SHEETS

Cooking Safety for All – (PDF)

Cooking Safety for Older Adults – (PDF)

Nonfire Cooking Burns – (PDF)

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RESOURCE FLIERS

Use caution when handling fireworks – (PDF) | (GIF) | (PNG) | (JPG)

Fire Prevention & Burn Safety Tips
English – (PDF)

Prevención de Incendios & Consejos de Seguridad para las Quemaduras
Spanish / Español (PDF)

Предотвращение пожаров и советы по профилактике ожогов
Russian / Pусский – (PDF)

Mẹo Phòng Cháy và Ngăn Ngừa Bỏng
Vietnamese / Tiếng Việt – (PDF)

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VIDEO

Watch & share!
Think Twice Before You Use Fireworks – (Click to view)