Crime & Safety

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Observes National Burn Awareness Week

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department offers tips for parents and caregivers to help prevent burns.

Fairfax County, the American Burn Association and the U.S. Fire Administration are observing National Burn Awareness Week through Feb. 11.

The organizations are encouraging parents and care givers to be proactive in keeping their children and loved ones safe from fires and burn hazards. This year’s focus is scald injuries, which are painful and can result in lifelong scarring.

According to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department the prevention of scalds is always preferable to having to treat them, and can be easily prevented. Each year more than 500,000 people have to receive medical treatment because of burns, and about half of those are from scalding, which most often occurs in the bathroom or kitchen.

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Parents should have a child-safe zone while cooking and serving hot foods and beverages. Water heater thermostats should be lowered to provide water no hotter than 120 degrees. Anti-scald devices can be installed as well, which are heat sensitive and stop or interrupt the flow of water when the temperature becomes too hot.

Parents should also cook on the back burners of the stove when children are present and keep all pot handles away from the edge of the stove. They should use non-slip placemats rather than table cloths, and refrain from drinking or carrying hot liquids when they are holding a child.

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For more information on burn safety visit www.usfa.fema.gov or www.burnprevention.org.


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