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Fire Safety 2012 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | A Newspaper in Education Section | www.milwaukeemarketplace.com/specialsections
6
Getting burned in
the kitchen
The kitchen is the most dangerous room in
the house and the most likely place for burns
and scalds to occur. In 2011, 15% of all burn
injury admissions to Columbia St. Mary’s
Regional Burn Center originated in the kitchen.
Any adult or child working or playing in or
around the kitchen can potentially become a
burn victim. There is a multitude of things in
the kitchen that can cause a burn injury.
• The oven and stovetop gets HOT.
• The pots and pans used in food
preparation get HOT.
• Food within pots, pans and bake ware
gets HOT.
• Items being removed from the
microwave or dishwasher get HOT.
• Even the tap water from the kitchen
faucet gets HOT.
Fortunately, learning how to “cool it” and
prevent kitchen burns requires only some
simple common sense and adherence to a few
basic kitchen safety rules.
1) Turn pot handles inward away from
other burners and the edge of the
range when you cook. Cookware
handles that point outward past the
stovetop can easily be knocked over.
2) Keep hot pads and pan holders nearby.
Use the hot pad to remove pot lids or
when putting food in or taking food out
of the oven.
3) Remove pot lids slowly from food items
and stand to the side when opening
oven or dishwasher doors. A burst of
hot air or steam can quickly escape and
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Meets the New wiscoNsiN staNdards for health educatioN: 7:2:a1, 7:2:B2, 7:3:a1, 7:3:B2
Article submitted by Columbia St. Mary’s Regional Burn
11 minutes
In the distance you hear
sirens approaching.
Eleven minutes after
the fire started, the first
fire equipment arrives.
is not my cup of tea
cause a burn injury.
If you have sprinklers, firefighters will
make sure the fire is out and give you
the all clear. If you don’t, the firefighters
will start pouring thousands of gallons of
water on the fire.
Fire sprinklers use less than 341 gallons
of water to put out an average fire.*
Firefighters use more than 2,935 gallons
for an average fire.
*According to the Scottsdale Report
By Sherie Siemann
4) Don’t wear clothing with long, loose
sleeves when cooking or be sure to roll
back your sleeves to keep them from
dropping down onto hot surfaces or
into open flames.
5) If you have long hair, tie it back prior to
cooking. Long hair can easily become a
point of ignition and will burn very
quickly.
6) Stand back from hot grease and boiling
liquids, including water. These liquids
can spatter, so keep your distance as
appropriate.
7) Be very careful when draining hot pasta
or pouring hot liquids like soup from a
pot into a bowl. A splatter of hot soup
or oil can cause a deep burn injury.
8) Take care when using the microwave
as food may be steaming or boiling.
Don’t assume that food cooked in the
microwave isn’t as hot as food cooked
on the stove.
9) Allow only children who are tall enough
to remove food from the microwave
oven safely to use the microwave.
Children who are too short to reach a
microwave oven easily may risk facial
burns.
10) Always test the water first when using
the hot water faucet. It may very well
be way too hot.
Kitchen burns can happen very quickly. You
can stay safe in the kitchen and prevent burns
by making a habit of these safety rules.
Monitored fire
protection is home
when you’re not
A monitored home fire protection system is
not just for the wealthy anymore. Technology
changes so fast that people may not
know about everything that is available. A
monitored home fire protection system is
when a licensed monitoring company watches
your home through wireless sensors, at all
times, for signs of afire. If afire is detected,
the company will call the fire department,
even if your family is not at home.
It is very easy to retrofit any home with a
monitored home fire protection system at
very little cost because of totally wireless
technology. Wireless installation can be
completed in your home in less than one hour.
The idea behind monitored protection is that
when an alarm goes off, it will also set off the
base station, letting you know where the fire
is located. Then, it will automatically contact
the fire department through alicensed
monitoring company. The system knows
exactly where the fire is located in the home.
If your family has aprofessionally installed
system that takes advantage of the latest
photoelectric smoke detectors and proper
location of heat detectors, it will protect
your home and family and have almost no
chance of false alarms. The system can be
programmed to call the home first to verify
that it is real.
As for the protection, it is not just for your
property. In fact most families say the reason
they got the monitored protection is because
of lives, not property —the lives of pets,
children at home alone and/or the elderly.
These same systems also can add-on other
protection devices, such as freeze sensors,
water sensors and panic buttons for the
elderly or disabled. The panic buttons can be
programmed to summon police or ambulance.
With sprinklers, an average
fire will cause $2,166 in
damage. Without sprinklers,
an average fire will cause
$45,019 in damage. Afire
like this one may cost more
than 10 times that much.
Home fire sprinklers
save lives and money.
Is your home
safe? See
pages 7-10 for
a checklist and
guidelines.
Presented by Home Fire
Sprinkler Coalition
www.homefiresprinkler.org
1-888-635-7222
Used by permission.