#Burn Injuries at Home - Riskchecker Interactive Tool

Electric blankets may keep you cozy on a winter night, but they can burn the skin or possibly spark a fire if they are left on for too long.

Tips: Do your research before you buy a heating blanket. Have other consumers raised safety concerns? Also, once your bed or your child’s bed is warm enough, turn off the blanket. Never fall asleep with the blanket on.

Children get colds all of the time – and parents use humidifiers in their rooms to help with their congestion. However, a child can suffer scald burns from the water.

Tips: Place the humidifier beyond your child’s reach. Make sure it is turned off or unplugged when you are not using it.

Many parents put a lamp by a child’s bed so the child can read at night (or to keep scary monsters away). However, if a lamp stays on too long, the bulb will get too hot, creating a fire hazard.

Tips: Use a low-wattage light bulb and do not leave it on for more than one or two hours at a time.

Many people use space heaters to keep warm during winter nights, especially in the Northeast. However, the National Fire Protection Association reports that these devices are involved in two out of every five home fires.

Tips: Research the safety of a space heater before you buy it. Don’t leave the space heater running all night. Keep the device away from furniture, blankets, drapes, rugs and clothing. Warn your children to stay away from heaters, which can burn skin upon contact.

Cooking equipment is the leading cause of fires and fire-related injuries in homes, the National Fire Protection Association reports.

Tips: Closely monitor anything on the stove or in the oven. Keep children at least three feet away from a stove or oven that is in use and never let them get near flames on a gas stove. Warn your kids about materials that can melt and/or catch fire in a microwave.

When hot oil, grease or fat spills or splatters in the kitchen, it can cause severe burns. Also, if cooking oil overheats in a fryer or pan, it may burst into flames.

Tips: Pay attention to cooking oil temperature. If it hits 750°F, it could catch fire. Never overfill a fryer. Don’t put wet food or food with ice crystals in a fryer, either. Wear an apron and/or gloves. Also, allow oil, grease or fat to cool before you drain it or carry it through the kitchen.

You can suffer serious scald burns from contact with boiling water or steam. Of course, the pot or kettle becomes hot as well.

Tips: Tell your children to never reach across a pot of boiling water and to always use gloves or a mitt when handling a container with hot water (or any other hot liquid). Use long utensils when stirring. Let water cool before you move around with it.

Many children suffer low-voltage burns when they reach into a toaster or toaster oven. The burn can cause severe damage to a child’s hand.

Tips: Keep your toaster and any other electrical cooking appliance out of your child’s reach. Unplug the appliance when you do not use it. Never place a metal utensil or any other metal object in a toaster.

Most garages contain gasoline, fertilizers, cleaning fluids and other hazardous materials, which can cause chemical burns if they come into contact with a person’s skin.

Tips: Store chemicals on high shelves or locked away in a cabinet. Properly dispose of any dated chemicals.

Many people use creative ways to run power tools, lights and other equipment in a garage, including using multiple extension cords. However, electrical fires can result from misuse of these cords. Additionally, a garage may feature exposed or damaged wiring.

Tips: If you operate any type of high-wattage power equipment, plug it directly into an outlet and do not run it through an extension cord, or else you run the risk of the outlet overheating. Also, check your wiring and get an electrician to repair any exposed or frayed wires.

If you park a car, lawn mower or other piece of equipment in your garage after using it, the machine’s exterior may be extremely hot for several minutes.

Tips:Keep your children away from the machine after use or at least allow enough time to pass before you let children into the garage.

Charcoal and gas grills are very dangerous. The National Fire Protection Association reports that failing to clean a grill, placing a grill too close to an object or structure that could catch fire and leaving the grill unattended are all leading causes of home grill fires. Additionally, many homes today feature a backyard gas or wood fire pit, which presents similar hazards.

Tips: Check propane tanks and accessories for leaks or damage and clean the grill or fire pit before you use it. Use the device in an open space and away from any objects or buildings. Make sure that children stay a safe distance from any grill or fireplace that is lit.

Tiki torches are popular today. They decorate a backyard, and they may contain citronella that keeps mosquitoes away. However, these devices can cause children to suffer burns and ignite fires.

Tips: Set the torch at a height that keeps the flame out of a child’s reach. Do not use the torches in enclosed spaces or near structures, objects and tree limbs.

While fireworks are popular on holidays like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, they are also dangerous. The National Fire Protection Association reports that fire departments respond to more 50,000 fireworks-related fires each year.

Tips: Only use fireworks in accord with local and state laws. Keep children a safe distance from fireworks displays and never let them light any fireworks. When you use fireworks, keep water and/or a fire extinguisher nearby.

A child can easily suffer a sunburn if outside for a prolonged period of time. In addition to causing immediate pain, repeated exposure to sun can also raise a person’s risk of developing skin cancer.

Tips: When your child goes outside, make sure the child plays in shade, wears protective clothing and uses sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.