Prevention of holiday burns, fires and injury
December 2006

All too often we see children who suffer terribly from burns requiring years of medical care. The physical scars can be bad, however, the emotional scars can be far worse and last a lifetime. Of course, we see parents who are devastated by the loss of a child, often blaming themselves for something that happened in a split second.

In order to keep the holidays happy and safe and fill the holiday season with wonderful memories, it is important to have in mind a number of simple but effective safety precautions.

Christmas Tree Fires

Decorate Christmas trees carefully to help make your holidays safer.

Safety Tips

• Never use lit candles to decorate a tree, and place them far from tree branches.
• Do not purchase a tree that is dry or dropping needles.
• Give live trees plenty of water daily to keep them as moist as possible.
• When purchasing an artificial tree, be sure it is labeled as fire-retardant.
• Choose a sturdy tree stand designed not to tip over.
• When decorating Christmas trees, always use safe tree lights. (Some lights are designed only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.) Larger tree lights should also have some type of reflector rather than a bare bulb and all lights should be listed by a testing laboratory.
• Never use electric lights on a metal tree.
• Follow the manufacturer's instructions on how to use tree lights. Any string of lights with worn, frayed or broken cords or loose bulb connections should not be used.
• Children are fascinated with Christmas trees. Keep a watchful eye on them when around the tree and do not let them play with the wiring or lights.
• Make sure the tree is at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from any heat source.
• Position the tree near an outlet so that cords are not running long distances.
• Do not place the tree where it may block exits.
• Always unplug Christmas tree lights before leaving home or going to sleep.
• Safely dispose of the tree when it begins dropping needles.
• Dried-out trees are highly flammable and should not be left in a house or garage, or placed against the house.

Candle Safety

Remember that a candle is an open flame. It can easily ignite anything combustible nearby.

Safety Tips

• Place candleholders on a sturdy, uncluttered surface.
• Do not use candles in places where they could be knocked over by children or pets.
• Avoid placing lit candles in windows, where blinds and curtains could close over them.
• Use candleholders that are sturdy, steady, made from a material that cannot burn and large enough to collect dripping wax.
• Keep candles away from items that can catch fire (e.g. clothing, books, paper, curtains, Christmas trees, flammable decorations).
• Extinguish all candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.
• Keep candles and all open flames away from flammable liquids.
• Keep candlewicks trimmed to one-quarter inch.
• Votives and containers should be extinguished before the last half-inch of wax starts to melt.
• Avoid candles with combustible items embedded in them
• Extinguish taper and pillar candles when they get to within two inches of the holder or decorative material.

Candles and children

• Keep candles up high out of reach of children.
• Never leave a child unattended in a room with a candle. A child should not sleep in a room with a lit candle.
• Do not allow children or teens to have candles in their bedrooms.
• Store candles, matches and lighters up high and out of children's sight and reach, preferably in a locked cabinet.

Other Tips related to candle safety

• Avoid carrying a lit candle during a power outage. Instead, use a flashlight.
• Do not use a lit candle when searching for items in a confined space.
• Never use a candle for a light when checking pilot lights or fueling equipment such as a kerosene heater or lantern. The flame could ignite the fumes.

Electrical lights, trees

• Keep holiday electrical decorations and lights away from children and pets.
• Holiday decorations should be non-combustible or made of flame resistant or flame retardant materials.
• Only use space heaters, electrical lights and appliances that have been approved by an independent testing laboratory. Follow manufacturers’ directions.
• Inspect all lights before plugging them in; even if they are new.
• Do not overload electrical outlets or extension cords.
• Unplug all Christmas tree lights before you leave the house or go to bed.
• Position live trees away from fireplaces, space heaters and radiators.
• Keep a clear path in all rooms in case you have to exit quickly. Gift wrapping, boxes, mail shipments can crowd up the room.

Space Heaters

• Vented heaters still require ventilation.
• Make sure the heater is designed for the size of the room you wish to heat. Indoor pollutants can be produced with a wrong-sized heater.
• An unvented fuel-burning space heater must not be used in a room with closed doors.
• Be sure that your space heater meets relevant and updated safety standards
• Locate space heaters on a hard, level surface where a child or family pet cannot brush up against them.
• Make sure there is a guard around the heating element or flame area of the device.
• Never put a space heater on a carpet or rug.
• Keep space heaters at least 3 feet away from furniture or other combustible material.
• Never leave a space heater on when an adult is not present in the room.
• Do not go to sleep with a space heater turned on. Carbon monoxide levels could rise with fuel-fired heaters.
• Portable heaters should have an automatic shut-off.
• Never keep flammable liquids near a space heater.
• Mobile homes should use only vented fuel-fired or electric heaters.

Cooking

• Monitor pots and pans on the stove so that liquids do not boil over.
• Turn pot and pan handles inward on the stovetop so children cannot reach them and pull them down.
• Use the back burners to cook when young children are in the home.

Bathing

• The safest bathing temperature is 37.7 degrees Celsius. Your home water heater should be set no higher than 48.8 degrees Celsius.
• Monitor the temperature of children’s bathwater to avoid scalds.
• Always turn on the cold water first. Then you can add hot water.
• Adult supervision is very important for children in the bathtub. Kids could turn on the hot water by accident.

Other

• Test smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors weekly.
• A professional should inspect chimneys as well as kerosene and gas space heaters each year.

Millions of children throughout the world. are injured in their homes each year. Injuries from falls, poisonings, fires, burns, lacerations, and suffocations are the leading causes of injury and death during childhood.

Research has shown that boys are almost twice as likely as girls to burn themselves and children under three face particular risks.

Parents need to be more aware of the risks that children face in the home, particularly when they are in the kitchen. Making sure that pan handles don't overhang the cooker is just one of the simple safety tips that could prevent burns injuries to small children.

Particular attention also needs to be paid to children under three, as they are less aware of the dangers they face, and parents of small boys need to be extra vigilant.

Bibliography:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2. U.S. Fire Administration
3. National Fire Protection Association
4. American Academy of Pediatrics