FOURTH OF JULY: The safest way to enjoy fireworks and to prevent fireworks-related injuries is to attend fireworks displays given by trained professionals!! Each year, approximately 12,000 people are injured and treated in emergency rooms for fireworks injuries More than two-thirds of all fireworks-related injuries occur between June 16 and July 16. During that time period:»one out of every three people injured are children under the age of 15.»Young people under 20 sustained nearly half of all related injuries.»the risk of fireworks injuries is two-and-a-half-times as high for children ages 10-14 as for the general population.»the most commonly injured areas are the hands, eyes, head, face, and ears.»more than half of the injuries are burns.»fire involving fireworks causes almost $21 million a year in property damage.
SPARKLERS HOT Sparklers are legal in the majority of the 50 states, and can often be readily available in your local grocery store. In this case, however, legal does not equal safe. Sparklers are responsible for the vast majority of fireworks-related injuries, mainly as a result of parents giving them to their young children. Children under five lack the physical coordination to safely handle sparklers, and they may not understand the hazards associated with them. Sparklers account for one third of related injuries to children under the age of five. Sparklers reach upwards of 1800ºF!! FIREWORKS LAWS Not only are most fireworks extremely dangerous, many of them are illegal. M-80 s, Silver Salutes, and Cherry Bombs are examples of dangerous explosive devices that are illegal in all 50 states. Use or possession of these devices should immediately be reported to your local police or fire department. To view specific fireworks laws for the state in which you live, visit: www.fireworks.com/fireworks_laws/ PAGE 2
Halloween: When choosing a costume, stay away from billowing or long trailing fabric. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so they can see out. Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume. Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs, and heaters. It is safest to use a flashlight or battery-operated candle in a jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit. When lighting candles inside jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough away from trick-or-treaters, doorsteps, walkways and yards. Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes. Tell children to stay away from open flames. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. (Have them practice, stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands, and rolling over and over to put the flames out.) Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, whose costumes may brush against the lighting. If your children are going to Halloween parties at others homes, have them look for ways out of the home and plan how they would get out in an emergency. PAGE 3
THANKSGIVING: Keep your family and overnight guests safe with a working smoke detector on every level of the house, in every bedroom, and in the halls adjacent to the bedrooms. Test smoke detectors monthly and replace batteries at least once a year, unless you have smoke alarms with ten-year lithium batteries, in which case you do not need to replace them annually. Overnight guests should be instructed on the fire escape plan and designated meeting place for your home. Have a fire extinguisher available not more than 10 feet from the stove, on the exit side of the room. Start holiday cooking with a clean stove and oven. Keep the kitchen off-limits to young children and adults that are not helping with food preparations to lessen the possibility of kitchen mishaps. When cooking, do not wear clothing with loose sleeves or dangling jewelry. The clothing can catch on fire and the jewelry can catch on pot handles, causing spills and burns. Cook on the back burners when possible and turn pot handles in so they don t extend over the edge of the stove. Never leave cooking unattended. If you must leave the kitchen while cooking, turn off the stove or have someone else watch what is being cooked. Keep Thanksgiving decorations and kitchen clutter away from sources of direct heat. Candles are often part of holiday decorations. Candles should never be left burning when you are away from home, or after going to bed. Candles should be located where children will not be tempted to play with them, and where guests will not accidentally brush against them. The candle holder should be completely noncombustible and difficult to knock over. The candle should not have combustible decorations around it. If smoking is allowed inside, provide guests with large, deep ashtrays and check them frequently. After guests leave, check inside and under upholstery and in trash cans for cigarette butts that may be smoldering. PAGE 4
TURKEY FRYERS (According to the National Fire Protection Association): NFPA discourages the use of outdoor gas-fueled turkey fryers that immerse the turkey in hot oil. These turkey fryers use a substantial quantity of cooking oil at high temperatures, and units currently available for home use pose a significant danger that hot oil will be released at some point during the cooking process. The use of turkey fryers by consumers can lead to devastating burns, other injuries and the destruction of property. NFPA urges those who prefer fried turkey to seek out professional establishments, such as grocery stores, specialty food retailers, and restaurants for the preparation of the dish, or consider a new type of "oil-less" turkey fryer." Hot oil may splash or spill at any point during the cooking process, when the fryer is jarred or tipped over, the turkey is placed in the fryer or removed, or the turkey is moved from the fryer to the table. Any contact between hot oil and skin could result in serious injury. Any contact between hot oil and nonmetallic materials could lead to serious damage. A major spill of hot oil can occur with fryers designed for outdoor use and using a stand as these units are particularly vulnerable to upset or collapse, followed by a major spill of hot oil. Newer countertop units using a solid base appear to reduce this particular risk. NFPA does not believe that consumer education alone can make the risks of either type of turkey fryer acceptably low because of the large quantities of hot oil involved and the speed and severity of burn likely to occur with contact. In deep frying, oil is heated to temperatures of 350 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Cooking oil is combustible, and if it is heated beyond its cooking temperature, its vapors can ignite. This is a fire danger separate from the burn danger inherent in the hot oil. Overheating can occur if temperature controls, which are designed to shut off the fryer if the oil overheats, are defective, or if the appliance has no temperature controls. Propane-fired turkey fryers are designed for outdoor use, particularly for Thanksgiving, by which time both rain and snow are common in many parts of the country. If rain or snow strikes exposed hot cooking oil, the result can be a splattering of the hot oil or a conversion of the rain or snow to steam, either of which can lead to burns. Use of propane-fired turkey fryers indoors to avoid bad weather is contrary to their design and dangerous in its own right. Also, moving an operating turkey fryer indoors to escape bad weather is extremely risky. Fires have occurred when turkey fryers were used in a garage or barn or under eaves to keep the appliance out of the rain. The approximately 5 gallons of oil in these devices introduce an additional level of hazard to deep fryer cooking, as does the size and weight of the turkey, which must be safely lowered into and raised out of the large quantity of hot oil. Many turkeys are purchased frozen, and they may not be fully thawed when cooking begins. As with a rainy day, a defrosting turkey creates the risk of contact between hot cooking oil. PAGE 5
Winter Holidays: Trees HOT When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label "Fire Resistant." Although this label does not mean the tree won't catch fire, it does indicate the tree will resist burning and should extinguish quickly. When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green; needles are hard to pull from branches, and when bent between your fingers, needles do not break. The trunk butt of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles. When setting up a tree at home, place it away from fireplaces and radiators. Because heated rooms dry live trees out rapidly, be sure to keep the stand filled with water. Place the tree out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways. Lights Indoors or outside, use only lights that have been tested for safety by a recognized testing laboratory, which indicates conformance with safety standards. Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections, and throw out damaged sets. Use no more than three standard-size sets of lights per single extension cord. Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted. Fasten outdoor lights securely to trees, house walls, or other firm supports to protect the lights from wind damage. Use only insulated staples, not nails or tacks, to hold strings in place. Or, run strings of lights through hooks (available at hardware stores). Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house. The lights could short out and start a fire. For added electric-shock protection, plug outdoor electric lights and decorations into circuits protected by ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs). Portable outdoor GFCIs can be purchased where electrical supplies are sold. GFCIs can be installed permanently to household circuits by a qualified electrician. PAGE 6
Decorations Use only non-combustible or flame-resistant materials to trim a tree. Choose tinsel or artificial icicles of plastic or nonleaded metals. Leaded materials are hazardous if ingested by children. Never use lighted candles on a tree or near other evergreens. Always use non-flammable holders, and place candles where they will not be knocked down. In homes with small children, take special care to avoid decorations that are sharp or breakable, keep trimmings with small removable parts out of the reach of children to avoid the child swallowing or inhaling small pieces, and avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food that may tempt a child to eat them. Wear gloves to avoid eye and skin irritation while decorating with spun glass "angel hair." Follow container directions carefully to avoid lung irritation while decorating with artificial snow sprays. Fireplaces Use care with "fire salts," which produce colored flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain heavy metals that can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting if eaten. Keep them away from children. Do not burn wrapping papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely. PAGE 7