Every winter we hear about house fires caused by candles, holiday decorations, or unattended wood-burning fireplaces. The loss of a home is certainly devastating, but when people are involved and suffer burn injuries, it is life changing and possibly life ending. Jackie Heinle, RN, nurse manager of the Burn Treatment Center located in University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, talks about burn prevention and safety:
Why are the holidays and winter more likely to increase the risk of a house fire?
The winter holidays are really a time for fun and celebration, and along with those two things come some additional things like more cooking in the home, more home decorating that’s different, some entertaining that’s taking place in the home, and then there’s an increased risk of fire due to the heating equipment that we have to keep our house warm during the winter.
Are there steps everyone can take to decrease the risk of a fire?
There are some very simple things that people can follow, Steve, and one of them, of course, is maintaining your holiday lights. Inspect them each year to make sure that holiday lights are in good working order and that there isn’t any excessive wear or frayed wires. If you have a real Christmas tree, make sure that you keep the stand full of water at all times and then also remember that artificial trees can cause problems. Use only non-flammable decorations for your trees. When you’re cooking in the kitchen, keep children out of the kitchen because many times you can trip over them or they can have access to the cooking equipment. Make sure to use fire safety in the kitchen: use back burners, keep the handles turned out, those types of things. If you have a fireplace in your home like we do, we make sure that the chimney is inspected every year and that when the ashes are finished, we take them outside in a metal pan, don’t leave ashes in there. And then candles—candles can be so devastating with injuries and house fires. Make sure that candles are never left unattended and keep them out of the reach of children. And then if you’re doing any entertaining in your home, don’t allow smoking in the home because that can certainly cause some issues afterwards.
What can every family do to prepare for a fire in their home?
Have those working smoke detectors so that the smoke detectors can alert you very quickly, and that you respond. You know how to respond to the smoke detectors—get out, you need to stay out, everyone needs to know how to call the fire department in case there is a home fire, and certainly just make sure that the smoke detectors are changed, the batteries are changed, the smoke detectors aren’t very old—that’s really the key thing, and practice safety.
How important is it for families to practice their plan and stick to it in the event of an emergency?
Very important, communicating with your family members is the key to success in getting out of the home. Practice those escape routes with the adults; certainly with the children; get a meeting place so that when everybody gets there and when people are all out—they know that everybody is accounted for; and again, know how to call—make that emergency call.
Once out of a burning home, why is it so important to stay outside and not run back in to find someone or retrieve something?
Oh gosh, that’s a very good thing, because when you return back to the house, in a very short time the house can be filled with smoke and it’s a matter of seconds before you become overcome with the smoke and you can quickly die from that, so really—get out and you need to stay out regardless of what the reason for you to go back into the home is. You’ve got to stay out.
What if someone does suffer from burns? What can they do immediately to put out the flames?
If your clothes catch on fire, then you need to stop—don’t run, you need to drop and you need to roll back and forth on the ground. When people run, it intensifies the flames and the heat, so you’ve got to extinguish the flames.
What can a bystander do if they see someone on fire?
Oh gosh, that’s always a scary thought. Immediately get their attention and calmly let them know that you’re there to help; tell them to do the stop, drop, and roll on the ground; and that somebody will be there very quickly to help them.
What are the next steps to do to take care of a person who has suffered burns while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive?
Make sure that you’re safe and they’re also safe, before you can care for them. Cover them up with a blanket and just reassure them that you’ve called for help and that someone will be there very shortly to assist them.
What changes in the life of a burn victim?
Wow—we see lots of changes. We have to remember that burns heal but they never really go away. Often the healed burn will result in cosmetic and functional outcomes in the survivor which impacts, really, the rest of their lives.
How long does it take to recover from burns?
It can take a few days like with a small sunburn, or it can take weeks, or it can take months to recover from a burn injury. Once a survivor leaves the hospital, we have to remember that they have months and years and a lifetime of rehabilitation. Burns impact survivors for the rest of their lives. |
