Burn Prevention

Caution: It Doesn’t Take a Fire to Burn a Child

Safe Kids Denver Metro reminds parents and caregivers that fire is just one cause of burn injuries — children can also be seriously injured by hot liquids, heating appliances, hot pots and pans, electrical currents and chemicals.

Each year, in the United States , tens of thousands of children are treated in emergency rooms for burns and fire-related injuries. “Hot liquids can be very dangerous, and kids are also at risk around steam irons, curling irons and space heaters,” cautions Leslie Feuerborn, Safe Kids Denver Metro coordinator. “There’s a lot you can do around the home to minimize the risk of burn injuries in everyday life.”  Young children cannot recognize heat-related hazards quickly enough to react appropriately so it’s up to parents, grandparents and other caregivers to take action to prevent burns and scalds in their children.

Safe Kids urges caregivers to:

• Set water heaters to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Consider putting an anti-scald device (about $30) on each water tap and shower head, and check the temperature of a baby’s bathwater before putting the baby in.
• Prevent spills. If possible, cook on a back burner. Don’t let pot handles stick out.   Young children can easily reach up and pull the pot and it’s hot contents on top of them. Avoid wearing long sleeves or baggy clothes in the kitchen that may brush across burners and catch fire. Place containers of hot food or liquid away from the edge of a counter, and don’t pick up anything hot while holding a baby.
• Keep electrical cords out of reach — especially extension cords and cords connected to heating appliances. Make sure electrical cords can’t be pulled or snagged into a bathtub or sink. Don’t leave a hot iron sitting on an ironing board unattended and make sure to turn off electric curling irons when not in use.
• Childproof your home. Cover unused electrical outlets. Lock matches, lighters and flammable materials out of a child’s reach. Don’t allow your young children to light candles. The basics go a long way toward preventing burns and other injuries.
• Actively supervise. Simply being in the same room with a child is not necessarily supervising. A young child in the same room as hot surfaces, hot liquids or open flames should be under constant, close supervision of an adult paying undivided attention.

Take precautions against fire.

• Install a smoke alarm on each level and in every sleeping area, and make sure each one actually works.
• Test your smoke alarms once a month.
• Replace the batteries every six months (except for lithium batteries that last for 10 years according to manufacturer’s instructions).
• If your smoke alarm is more then ten years old, replace it.
• Prepare and practice a home escape plan with everyone living in your home.

A working smoke alarm reduces the risk of dying in a fire by about 50 percent.

For more information about burn prevention, contact your local fire department or visit www.usa.safekids.org/fire