National Burn Awareness Week
During this week of National Burn Awareness Week, the Pocatello Fire Dept. has offered education and safety tips on how to stay burn-free from everyday activities.
Most of those activities take place inside your home says Asst. Chief Tom Stanford. He says scalding hot water can be unexpected at any time from your sink and shower. Adjusting the temperature nozzle on your water heater can reduce many burns.
“Keep it below 120 degrees. You don’t want it any higher than that. It’ll hike up your power bill too if you keep it higher than you really need it.”
Other activities can involve cooking and keeping an eye out on your dishes. Making sure curious children don’t get a hold of pots and pans that may be hot.
Stanford says educating your children on burn prevention can mean the difference between safe and sorry.
According to the American Burn Association, 1,100 children die each year from burns and fires. Also, over 100,000 children are seen in medical rooms nation-wide each year from burn-related injuries.
But burns can affect many people from all ages. That’s why Stanford says think before you do, because many of these injuries could have been completely avoidable.
