Safety and Injury Prevention

Fire Safety and Burns - Prevention

About Smoke Alarms
Smoke detectors should be installed in every sleeping area and on every floor of your home. Check your smoke alarms every month and replace the batteries twice a year (a good way to remember to change the batteries is during the twice-yearly time change). Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years. Some smoke alarms, such as a 10-year lithium alarm, do not require an annual battery change.

Preventing fires:

According to the United States Fire Administration, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one-third of residential fires that kill children are caused by children playing with flammable products, such as matches. In addition, a lack of working smoke alarms can significantly increase the chance of dying in a residential fire. However, by taking appropriate steps to make your home safe, you can protect your children and your family from fires:

  • Keep flammable products, such as matches, lighters, and candles locked and out of the reach of children.
  • Install and maintain smoke alarms in your home.
  • Maintain heating equipment: regularly have your furnace inspected, and turn off and unplug supplemental heaters when sleeping.
  • Only burn logs in the fireplace with a fireplace screen in place to protect against sparks. Have your chimney cleaned and inspected yearly.
  • Develop several fire escape plans from each room in the house and practice them regularly with your family.
  • Make sure items such as clothing or blankets do not cover lamps that are turned on.
Other Types of Alarms
Although the basic smoke alarm can detect most fires, you also may want to consider installing both an ionization alarm to better sense flaming fires and a photoelectric alarm to better sense slow, smoky fires.

The family escape plan:

In the event of a fire, it is important to get out of the house fast. However, small children can become frightened, disoriented, or react inappropriately when a fire occurs. By developing a family escape plan together, and practicing it repeatedly, your child will have a better chance of escaping a fire unhurt and alive. A good family escape plan should include the following:
  • two escape routes from each room (in case one exit becomes blocked by the fire)
  • a chain ladder for every upstairs bedroom
  • a drawn floor plan of your home with arrows indicating escape routes
  • repeated practice to familiarize yourself and your child with the escape plan
  • an agreed-upon meeting place outside of the house

How to escape a fire:

  1. Fast Exit
    The key to escaping a fire in the home safely is to get out fast. Smoke, gas, or fire can kill within one minute. Leave valuables behind. Avoid being locked into your house, keep a key in or near any locks at night.
  2. Exit Low
    Smoke and the heat from fire rise, so it is important to stay low. Crawl out of the house. Do not run or walk.
  3. Feel Doors
    Always feel the door before opening a door. A hot door indicates fire on the other side. If a door is hot, place sheets or clothing under the door to prevent deadly smoke from entering the room.
  4. Window Exits
    If the door exit is not an option, escape through a window (use the chain ladder if the window is upstairs). If the window is sealed, throw something heavy through the glass and protect yourself from the broken glass when exiting.
  5. Safe Meeting Place
    Meet at an agreed-upon meeting place outside, such as the mailbox, to make sure everyone is out of the house.
  6. Call For Help
    Go to a neighbor's house to call the fire department.

Special Note: Never go back inside a burning house for any reason!

Children's Sleepwear
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that children wear sleepwear that is made of flame-resistant material and/or snug-fitting. Loose-fitting, cotton sleepwear is associated with almost 300 annual burn injuries that require emergency room treatment. In addition, children who accidentally set fires when playing with flammable products tend to play with fire just before bedtime or upon waking.

Electrical safety:

Electric shocks from appliances and electrical outlets and cords can burn the skin and cause tissue and nerve damage. To avoid electrical shock, take the following precautions:
  • Keep electrical appliances away from sinks and bathtubs.
  • Ensure that your electrical appliances are approved by Underwriter's Laboratories (UL), which is indicated on the box or appliance itself.
  • Use ground fault circuit interrupters in areas near water, such as the kitchen, bathroom, and outside.
  • Unplug electrical cords that are not in use. Keep electrical cords out of reach of children.
  • Cover unused electrical outlets with safety covers.
  • Turn off electrical equipment that is not being used.
Warning
As of June 2000, the CPSC requires hangtags and permanent labels on snug-fitting cotton or cotton-blend sleepwear. This is to warn parents that because the sleepwear is not flame-resistant, it must fit snugly. Snug-fitting sleepwear is less likely to come into contact with a flame and does not ignite as easily. Flame-resistant sleepwear is made from flame-resistant fabric or treated with flame retardants.

Preventing burns:

Burns are among the most painful and devastating injuries to a person. Severe burns can require long periods of treatment, including rehabilitation, skin grafts, and physical therapy. Scald burns are the most common types of burns among young children, while older children tend to sustain flame burns. However, children can also get burned through electricity and chemicals.

The skin of young children is thinner than adults, which means it burns deeper and at a lower temperature. Consider the following: it takes three seconds of exposure to hot tap water at 140° F to sustain a third-degree burn in a young child, according to data from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Third-degree burns require hospitalization and skin grafts. However, by taking appropriate, preventive steps, you can protect your children from burns:

  • Set your water heater thermostat to 120° F or below. Anti-scald devices are now available for water faucets and shower heads to prevent scalding.
  • Check the water temperature with your elbow, wrist, or bath thermometer before bathing your child.
  • Use the back burners on stove as much as possible, away from the reach of children. Turn pot handles away from the edge of the stove.
  • When cooking, put your toddler in a safe area, such a high chair or play pen.
  • Never carry a child while carrying a hot drink or hot food.
  • Do not use tablecloths or placemats around young children (they can pull on them and spill hot food or drinks).
  • Test microwaved foods and drinks before giving them to a young child. Avoid heating baby bottles in the microwave, as the heat may be unevenly distributed.
  • Open microwaved containers away from you and your child, as the steam can scald the skin.
  • Keep irons, curling irons, and other heat appliances and their cords out of a child's reach.
  • Do not allow children to handle fireworks.
  • Keep children away from kerosene lamps, supplemental heaters, and outdoor grills when in use.

A special note about sunburns:

Children can suffer burns when their unprotected skin is exposed to sunlight. In addition, excessive sunburns can lead to skin cancer later in life. In fact, most people receive 50 percent of their lifetime exposure to the sun by 18 years of age.

The following steps have been recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology and the Skin Cancer Foundation to help reduce the risk of sunburn and skin cancer:

  • Protect children from excessive sun exposure when the sun is strongest (between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.), and apply sunscreen liberally and frequently to children 6 months of age and older.
  • Apply sunscreen, with at least a (Sun Protection Factor) SPF-15 or higher that protects against both UVA (ultraviolet A) and UVB (ultraviolet B) rays, to all areas of the body that are exposed to the sun.
  • Reapply sunscreen every two hours, even on cloudy days. Reapply after swimming or sweating.
  • Wear clothing that covers the body and shades the face. Hats should provide shade for both the face and back of the neck. Wearing sunglasses will reduce the amount of rays reaching the eye by filtering as much as 80 percent of the rays, and protecting the lids of the eyes as well as the lens.
  • Avoid exposure to UV (ultraviolet) radiation from sunlamps or tanning beds.

Remember, sand and pavement reflect UV rays even under the umbrella. Snow is also a good reflector of UV rays. Reflective surfaces can reflect up to 85 percent of the damaging sun rays.

Consult with your child's physician before applying sunscreen to babies under 6 months old.

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