Healthy You - Every Day

Preventing Burns Wherever You Call Home

From water temperature to cooking practices, there’s a lot to know

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Tips from LVHN about how to keep prevent burns in your home

Our homes are meant to provide safety and comfort, but they also can be danger zones for burns.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a home fire injury occurred every 52 minutes in the U.S. in 2023 and a home fire death every three hours.

Making even seemingly small changes can go a long way in preventing you from becoming a statistic. This week, Burn Awareness Week (Feb. 2-8), presented by the American Burn Association (ABA), is designed to put burn safety front and center and shine a spotlight on burn prevention.

The ABA says burn injuries continue to be a significant health issue. Nearly 400,000 people sought medical care for burns in 2021. Children under 5 are twice as likely to be seen in a hospital emergency department for burn injuries and most of those occur in the home. Scald burns are the second-leading cause of all burn injuries.

Did You Know?

Nearly half of all home fires are related to cooking.

The NFPA says while the number of fires in homes and apartments has decreased more than 40 percent since 1980, less progress has been made in the rates of death and injury. For overall home fires, the NFPA says the 2023 rate of 8.7 deaths per 1,000 reported home fires was higher than the rate of 7.1 in 1980. The death rate for one- or two-family home fires was 38 percent higher than in 1980, while the rate for apartment fires was 27 percent lower.

Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Regional Burn Center admits 800-900 people each year and 5,000-6,000 people are seen each year in LVHN’s outpatient Burn Recovery Center, either for follow-up burn care, sometimes after surgery, or because their burns were not large enough for them to be hospitalized. 

“Taking the time to make low-cost or no-cost changes where you live, taking common sense safety precautions for yourself and those in your home, can go a long way in preventing a burn tragedy,” says Daniel Lozano, MD, LVHN’s Chief, Department of Surgery, Division of Burn. “All it takes is one second for liquid at 155 F to cause a third-degree burn, the worst primary burn severity level.”

Some key burn prevention tips from the ABA, NFPA and the Department of Homeland Security include:

  • Kitchen safety: Store flammable items away from heat, turn pot handles inward and never leave cooking food unattended. Establish a “kid-free zone” of at least three feet around your stove. Open microwaved food slowly, away from your face.
  • Holding kids: Never hold a child while cooking, drinking hot liquid, or carrying hot foods.
  • Water temperature precautions: Set your water heater below 120 F and supervise children in the bath. Check the bath water with the inside of your wrist as you would baby’s milk and run your hand through the bath water to make sure there are no hot spots.
  • Portable heaters: Keep combustible objects at least three feet away.
  • General home safety: Test smoke alarms regularly and have a smoke alarm on every level of your home, including the basement. Never overload electrical outlets or extension cords and don’t run extension or appliance cords under rugs or furniture.
  • Fireplaces and wood stoves: Inspect and clean woodstove pipes and chimneys annually and check monthly for damage or obstructions. Use a fireplace screen heavy enough to stop rolling logs and big enough to cover the entire opening of the fireplace to catch flying sparks. Make sure the fire is completely out before leaving the house or going to bed.

More safety information:

ABA's Prevention Resources Page 

Lorenzo, Burn Prevention, Telehealth

Burn Treatment

Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence is home to Pennsylvania’s largest and busiest burn center. At our Regional Burn Center, you get access to leading-edge burn care and rehabilitation services, including innovative burn treatments not offered at any other center in the region.

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