Thanksgiving is peak day for home cooking fires

NFPA urges caution when preparing holiday meals

November 9, 2011 – The number of home cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day was three times the national average of fires per day in 2009, according the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA.) NFPA is urging the public to keep fire safety in mind when preparing holiday meals.

“Thanksgiving can be a whirlwind of cooking and entertaining guests,” said Lorraine Carli, vice president of communications for NFPA. “With so much multitasking taking place, fire hazards around the oven or stovetop can easily be overlooked. Cooks should be conscious of fire safety this Thanksgiving whether the menu is meant to serve two or 20.”

Cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and related injuries. In 2005-2009, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 155,400 home fires per year involving cooking equipment. These fires caused an annual average of 390 civilian deaths, 4,800 civilian injuries, and $771 million in direct property damage.

Download NFPA's Thanksgiving safety tips. (PDF, 868 KB)

To reduce the risk of cooking fires this holiday, NFPA recommends the following safety tips:

1. Keep anything that can catch fire such as oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains away from the stovetop.
2. Always stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you have to leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
3. When simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
4. Stay alert. If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the stove or stovetop.

If you have a cooking fire…

1. Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
2. Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number after you leave.
3. If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear path (to your way out of the home and someone has called the fire department).
4. Keep a lid nearby when cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
5. For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Burn Awareness Week Feb. 6-12, 2011

Winter Months Increase Fire Risk - Children Particularly Vulnerable

FEMA PRESS RELEASES:

Each year on average 18,300 Americans are injured, and more than 3,500 die in fires, with children age 14 and under making up 10 to 15 percent of all fire deaths, according to a FEMA press release.

National Burn Awareness Week is traditionally observed the first full week in February, and according to FEMA Regional Administrator Ken Murphy, it’s the perfect calendar observance to focus on preventing fires and protecting children.

“Children under the age of 5 account for 52 percent of all child fire deaths, and home fires tend to spike in winter months, placing younger children and toddlers at even greater risk,” said Murphy. “Many children are unable to escape from fire on their own, and I encourage parents and caregivers to use National Burn Awareness Week as an opportunity to take actions that keep their loved ones, and particularly children, safe from fire and burn hazards.”

FEMA offers these tips to avoid fire and keep kids safe around the house:

• Keep children at least 3 feet from hot stoves and cooking appliances. When cooking, use back burners with pot handles turned towards the back of the stove.

• Have fireplace flues and chimneys inspected for leakage and blockage from creosote or debris.

• Open the fireplace damper before lighting a fire and keep it open until the ashes are cool. Store ashes in fire-resistant containers; cover the container with a lid, and dispose of ashes carefully.

• Place space heaters on a floor that is flat and level. Do not put space heaters on rugs or carpets. Keep space heaters at least three feet from bedding, drapes, furniture and other flammable materials and place them out of the flow of foot traffic. Keep children and pets away from space heaters.

• Always tuck cords from appliances where children cannot reach them.

• Install smoke alarms on every level in your home, and inside and outside sleeping areas.

• Test smoke alarms each month and replace the batteries at least once a year.

FEMA recommends online resources for fire prevention and education, including materials for children. Safe Kids USA, a national network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional childhood injury, also offers fire-safety information.

FEMA's | Federal Emergency Management Agency mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Burn Awareness Week - February 7-13, 2010

I saw a Tweet a few days ago by @usfire on Twitter concerning "National Burn Awareness Week." Here's the twitter tweet . . .

@usfire : Burn Awareness Week is Feb 7-13. Educator's guide & presentations on scald injury available at http://bit.ly/bj85yo

It caught my attention to where I asked myself, "What is it?" After checking the link that @usfire provided I did a re-tweet (RT) of it, because after checking the link it became apparent that this was very important, useful common sense safety information.

Here a compiled collection of information that's out there on the internet concerning burn awareness:

Burn Awareness Week 2010 is February 7-13 and is part of a national effort to cut down on burn injuries. This Annual Safety Prevention Campaign is sponsored by the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The 2010 Burn Awareness Week, celebrated early in the year, is an excellent opportunity to “kick off” a year full of burn awareness education. This year's campaign will focus on preventing scalds and gasoline-related burns. Scalds are the leading cause of burn injuries every year, especially to children under the age of 5 and to senior citizens. Shriners Hospitals report that children ages 10-14 are four times more likely than other age groups to get in trouble with gasoline, and that scald burns are the most common burn injury among children age 4 and younger.

Children have thinner skin than adults. They will sustain more severe burns at lower temperatures and in a shorter period of time. Exposure for just five seconds to water which is 60 degrees C (140 degrees F) can result in a full thickness or third degree burns, which would require hospitalization and skin grafts. (This is the temperature of the average home’s hot water as it comes from the tap).

Here is a YouTube video concerning the importance of testing the temperature of bathwater before putting children into the tub. . .





Cooling the burned area will lessen the severity of the injury if the procedure is performed immediately following the burn incident. Children need to know the correct procedure for cooling a burn injury.

Scald injuries occur from a variety of causes, including hot coffee or chocolate, grease, foods from the microwave and hot water. Adults are most often injured by hot grease or by their clothing catching on fire while cooking.

In the event of a burn, it is important to immediately take the following steps:

* Cool all burns with tepid to cool water, regardless of degree.

* Continue flushing the area for up to 10 minutes. Do not apply ice, ointments, butter or other "home remedies." Remove all clothing or garments to reduce the contact time with the hot items.

* Cover affected areas with a clean dry cloth, towel or blanket to protect the burn and minimize pain.

* Seek medical advice if there is sloughing of the skin. Seek urgent medical attention if the area of skin sloughing is larger than the victim’s palm size.

Burn Awareness Week 2010 is intended to make people, especially parents and child caregivers, aware of the dangers involved with the improper use and storage of gasoline, as well as the dangers involved with scalding-hot liquids. Children’s are curious, and sometimes mischievous, nature tends to put them at risk for burns.

Burns caused by ignited vapor from gasoline or scalding hot water can scar the victim for life and leave long-lasting physical pain.

There are several layers of tissue that have to go through a healing process if there is a burn injury. A burn is painful for a significant amount of time. When you suffer with a burn injury, you are stuck with that for life. Burns are the most disfiguring injury someone can suffer from.

In regards to gasoline safety, gas should be stored in approved containers in a ventilated area away from any heat sources. Plastic gas containers should not be filled while they are in the back of pickups with plastic bed liners, because the opposing plastic materials create static electricity that can ignite gas vapor.

Because gasoline is so commonly used to fuel our cars, boats, lawnmowers and other outdoor machinery, people often forget that gasoline is a dangerous tool and should be handled responsibly.

Here some PowerPoint presentation on burn prevention programs that were developed for community education and outreach initiatives:

Scald Injury Prevention

Gasoline Safety

Fire/Burn Safety for Older Adults

It doesn't hurt to remind people of this very important fire safety/prevention issue. Just as it's important to remind family members and co-workers to wipe their shoes when coming in from sloppy weather. That puddle of water that develops from un-wiped shoes becomes a slipping hazard. Knowing what to do beforehand can be critical when it comes to burn injuries.


It's simple and easy to do . . .


LEARN NOT TO BURN
&
BE FIRE SAFE !


Referance Links:

http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Burn_Awareness/

http://www.ameriburn.org/


(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; this is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

KEEP A LID ON COOKING FIRES‏

Fires and burns caused by careless cooking account for thousands of serious and painful injuries every year. Many of these injuries could be prevented or lessened if people were more cautious and if they knew how to safely put out cooking fires.

Most cooking fires involve grease. Whether it's cooking oil lard or melted fat from meats, grease is a flammable liquid which ignites easily and burns rapidly. If grease ignites in a pan on your stove, smother the fire by sliding the lid or a large pan on the fire. If the fire begins in your stove, turn off the heat and leave the door close to smother the flames. You can also use baking soda (not baking powder) or a portable fire extinguisher to put out the fire. If the fire is too large to slide a lid on or to use a fire extinguisher, leave the house immediately and call the fire department from a neighbor’s house.

With grease fires, it’s just as important to know how not to extinguish as it is to know how to. The wrong action can spread the fire and caused serious burns. Never use water or flour on a grease fire. Water will make the fire bigger and can splatter the burning grease. Flour can explode. Never carry the burning pan because you may spill the grease on you or someone else. Deal with the fire where it starts. Do not turn on the exhaust fan above the stove.

Unfortunately, the typical response to a grease fire is to carry the burning pan outside or pour water on it. Both actions are dead wrong.

Some cooking fires are caused by leaving combustible items, like paper towels, dish towels, paper bags, etc. near the stove, or other hot cooking appliances. Others start because of a grease build-up in stoves, broilers, vents, etc.. Keep these areas clear and clean of grease and combustibles.

Frequent Burns are caused by microwave cooking. Most microwave recipes call for the use of plastic wraps. When containers are removed from the microwave, they may not feel hot, but boiling hot steam has accumulated under the plastic wrap. Always open the wrap away from you and protect your hands while doing so. Burns also occurred because microwave food cooks from the inside-out and the center may be hot enough to cause serious burns in the mouth. Be especially careful when serving children food from the microwave oven.

One way to prevent cooking fires is to never leave the cooking area unattended. It takes only seconds for grease to ignite. A “watched pot” may never boil, but it is less likely to catch fire.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)