Preventable childhood injuries are traumatic for both the child and the parents. Knowing you might have prevented your child’s injury can leave long-lasting feelings of guilt. We all want to keep our children safe and secure, and that includes protecting them from burn injuries in the home.
Maintain Smoke Alarms
Always keep up with smoke alarm maintenance. Check the battery life at least once a month, and investigate any beeping sounds your hear coming from the alarm. It could be a sign of dead batteries. Keep a smoke alarm on every level of your home, and in every bedroom. If your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old, consider replacing it.
Be Careful in the Kitchen
The kitchen is a dangerous place for child burn injuries. Between foods sizzling on the stovetop and electrical appliances, you need to childproof your kitchen and cook with care. If your child often plays in the kitchen while you cook, make sure he or she knows to stay well away from the oven. Watch out for appliances with frayed electrical cords.
Don’t let your child sit beneath the microwave or oven, especially if you’re handling large pots of hot food and liquid. Keep hot liquids, grease, and foods away from your child at all times. It’s best to keep your child out of the kitchen or place the child in a barrier within the kitchen. Keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and know how to use it.
Check Electrical Toys
You should check any electrical toys your child plays with regularly for wear and tear, overheating battery packs, or signs of burning. If the toy feels hot or smells unusual, repair it or get rid of it. Never let your child play with electrical toys in the bath, in mud, or with wet hands. Most children’s toys are fire retardant, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. If your child suffers a burn injury or any other type of injury as a result of a dangerous product, contact an experienced Savannah, GA product liability lawyer for legal counsel.
Avoid Space Heaters
The number of house fires that space heaters cause is overwhelming and doesn’t include the potential for burn injuries. If possible, avoid using space heaters around your child altogether. If you have to use a space heater, keep it away from curtains, bedspreads, pets, and your child. If it’s the first time you’ve used the space heater since last winter, watch it carefully for signs of malfunctioning, such as sparking or smoking.
Screen Fireplaces
Keep your fireplace carefully screened and warn children not to play near the fire so there is no chance of them falling into it. If you have a wood-burning stove, keep that screened, as well. Don’t place blankets or anything flammable in the vicinity of the fireplace and carefully supervise children in the same room as a fire.
Keep Flammables Out of Reach
Even if you’ve educated your children about fire safety, it’s best practice to keep matches, lighters, chemicals, and lit candles out of reach. If your child is burned, immediately put cold water on the burned area to absorb the heat from the skin while the fire department is on its way.
Practice an Escape Plan
Have a designated meeting location in case of a fire, and make sure everyone in the family knows about it. Choose somewhere far enough away from the house that it will be safe from flames. Practice your escape plan with your family and make sure your child knows what to do in the event of a fire emergency.
Get Help with Your Burn Injury Case
If your child has suffered a burn injury, contact the Savannah personal injury attorneys of Roden + Love, LLC. We have extensive successful experience handling a wide range of different types of burn injury cases and understand how terrible burns can be and want you to know your rights if a defective product or other negligence caused the burn. Contact us at 1-844-RESULTS to speak with a representative about your case today.