FIRE AND BURN INJURY PREVENTION
Burns account for roughly 1.25 million injuries in the United States every year. Approximately 4,500 fire and burn deaths and 45,000 hospitalizations occur each year due to burn injuries. Children ages 0-17 account for about 250,000 of these injuries every year. A majority of these are from scalding injuries.
The D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation along with The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center has developed a burn injury prevention program for the metropolitan area. Below you will find some of the programs that we currently have available. If you are interested in obtaining any of the materials below please feel free to contact us at prevention@dcffburnfoundation.org or by mail.
SCALD INJURY PREVENTION
Scald and burn injuries are the second leading cause of death in children under the age of five. Scalding injuries account for close to 44 percent of all pediatric burn injuries. Of the 250,000 children ages 0-17 burned in the United States every year, about 110,000 occur from scalding injuries from spilled food or beverages, pulling pots off the stove, bumping into an adult carrying hot foods or liquids, and from tap or bath water.
The D.C Firefighters Burn Foundation in partnership with The Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center and Children’s National Medical Center has developed a Scald Injury Prevention Kit for parents and caregivers. These kits include:
- A magnet indicating common hazards around the house for children 4 years of age or younger.
- An index card containing prevention tips and what to do if you receive a burn injury.
- Bath Tub Thermometer to give you an indication if the bathtub water is too HOT or safe to bath.
- Scald injury prevention brochure.
|
Click on to download the pdf
SENIOR FIRE SAFETY
Seniors age 65 and older account for about 250,000 burn injuries every year. More than 1,200 Americans, aged 65 or older, die as a result of fire annually. Another 3,000 seniors are injured due to residential fires. Approximately 2/3 of seniors who die as a result of fire are found in the room in which the fire originated. These fires are usually a result of smoking materials that ignite the victim's clothes, bedding, or upholstery. Although careless smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths, cooking accidents account for the largest number of non-fatal burn injuries. Other common causes of burn injuries in seniors include scalding as well as accidents with electricity and chemicals.
In July 2009 we developed a Senior Guide to Fire and Burn Injury Prevention. This guide contains approximately 20 pages of information on residential fire prevention, which includes topics on cooking, electrical, heating and smoking safety. The guide also contains information on what to do in the event of a fire or burn injury along with a home safety checklist.
|
