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Safety and Injury Prevention |
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| | Fire Safety and Burns - Identifying High-Risk Situations |
Children are at increased risk for serious fire and burn injuries and death because they have thinner skin than adults, resulting in more serious burns at lower temperatures. Most burns and fire injuries and deaths occur in the home. By knowing the high-risk situations for fires and burns and taking steps to make your home safer, you can help protect your child from fire and burn injuries or death.
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Age
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Most Common Injury Type
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Risk Factors
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< 5 Years
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Flame
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Playing with matches, cigarette lighters, fires in fireplaces, barbecue pits, and trash fires.
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Scald
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Kitchen injury from tipping scalding liquids.
Bathtub scalds often associated with lack of supervision or child abuse. Greatest number of pediatric burn patients are infants and toddlers younger than 3 years of age burned by scalding liquids.
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5 to 10 Years
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Flame
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Male children are at an increased risk often due to fire play and risk-taking behaviors.
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Scald
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Female children are at increased risk, with most burns occurring in the kitchen or bathroom.
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Adolescent
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Flame
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Injury associated with male peer-group activities involving gasoline, or other flammable products.
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Electrical
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Occurs most often in male adolescents involved in dare-type behaviors, such as climbing utility poles or antennas. In rural areas, burns may be caused by moving irrigation pipes that touch an electrical source.
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High-risk situations can include:
- failing to install and maintain working smoke alarms.
- leaving children unattended in the home, especially in the kitchen or bathroom.
- providing easy access to matches, gasoline, lighters, or other flammable products.
- failing to establish an escape plan.
- working with hot foods or liquids around toddlers and infants.
- failing to check the temperature of tap water and/or not lowering the water heater thermostat to 120° F or below.
- allowing children to handle fireworks.
- exposing electrical outlets and cords.
- allowing children near kerosene lamps, space heaters, or outside grills.
- leaving supplemental heating equipment on while adults and children are asleep.
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The information on this Web page is provided for educational purposes. You understand and agree that this information is not intended to be, and should not be used as, a substitute for medical treatment by a health care professional. You agree that Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital is not making a diagnosis of your condition or a recommendation about the course of treatment for your particular circumstances through the use of this Web page. You agree to be solely responsible for your use of this Web page and the information contained on this page. Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and information providers shall not be liable for any damages you may suffer or cause through your use of this page even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
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Lucile Packard Children's Hospital is located in Palo Alto, adjacent to Stanford University Hospital, approximately 20 miles north of San Jose, CA and 40 miles south of San Francisco.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
725 Welch Road
Palo Alto, California 94304
(650) 497-8000
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