January 29, 2016 - Division of Fire Safety Recognizes National Burn Awareness Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, January 29, 2016

This Year’s Theme is “Liquid and Steam Burn Like Fire”

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Fire Safety. along with fire departments statewide, are raising public awareness about burn injuries during National Burn Awareness Week, which runs February 1 -7, 2016. This year’s theme, “Liquid and Steam Burn Like Fire” recognizes  it is not only fire that causes deadly burns.

“The fire service is quite familiar with fire caused burns, however liquid and steam burns associated with everyday activity occur more frequently,” said William Kramer, Jr. Acting Director and State Fire Marshal. “In some cases they can be more serious than those associated with instances of fire, especially with the elderly and young children.”

Liquid and steam burns are easy to prevent.

• Set your water heater at 120 degrees F/48 degrees C or just below the medium setting.
• Use a thermometer to test the water coming out of your bath water tap.
• Run your hand through bath water to test for hot spots.
• Use back burners and turn pot handles toward the back of the stove so children cannot pull them down.
• Use oven mitts when cooking or handling hot food and drinks.
• Stir and test food cooked in the microwave before serving. Open heated containers away from you from back to front.
• Keep children away from the stove when cooking by using a safety gate for younger children and marking with tape a 3-foot “no-kid zone” for older children.
• Keep hot drinks away from the edge of tables and counters and avoid using tablecloths and placemats.
• Use a “travel mug” with a tight-fitting lid for all hot drinks.
• Never hold or carry a child while you have a hot drink in your hand.

National Burn Awareness Week is an opportunity to call attention to the individual actions that can be taken to avoid becoming a burn victim. Each year more than 450,000 burn injuries occur nationwide, including New Jersey. Many of these injuries are serious enough to warrant medical attention by fire department EMTs. Between 2008 and 2014, the proportion of burn center admissions due to scald burns increased from 29.8 percent to 33.7 percent. (Source: National Scald Prevention Campaign)

View the National Burn Awareness Week scald prevention public service announcement at the following link Scald Prevention PSA.

The Division of Fire Safety serves as the central fire service agency in the State. The Division is responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, as well as for implementing public education and firefighter training programs.