Over the last 20 years, burn injuries and deaths from fires have gone way down. There are many reasons for this, but the top one is probably that people are now more aware of how to avoid a fire in their home or business. Decades of TV commercials telling us how to be safe around a flame have worked! But, Smokey the Bear’s job is never done.
Every day people still suffer burn injuries in fires. While the problem of fire danger is never going to go away, you can take steps to lower the chances that you, your family, your home, or your business will be in a fire.
The following tips can increase burn awareness and promote fire safety:
- Check electrical plugs and cords for frayed wires
- Unplug appliances when you’re not using them
- Keep pot handles turned inward on the stove top and away from the edge of the stove
- Check smoke detector batteries and clean your smoke detector. Smoke detector batteries should be changed twice a year. (Here’s a tip: pick two easy to remember dates, like Daylight Savings Time or holidays)
- Turn down your water heater to 120° F or below
- Clean out your chimney or fireplace before using them in winter
- Don’t overload electrical outlets
A few tips to keep in mind if you have young children:
- Teach your child what to do in case of a fire—practice exit strategies and teach them how to put out small fires
- Keep your child far away from hot oil, deep fryers, or any other hot bubbling liquid
- Don’t warm up formula or milk in a microwave because the liquid heats up in weird ways, some parts of your drink can get way hotter than others.
- Teach kids to stay away from lighters and matches
- Check bathtub temperature with your hand before putting a child or infant in the water
- Never leave kids alone near fireworks
No matter how safe you are, accidents can still happen. People get hurt every day even if they do everything they could to avoid accidents. If you or a loved one ever suffer a burn injury, contact a NY burn injury lawyer at Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP. We can be reached at (212) 986-7353.