Oxendine: Is Your Home Safe? Fire Prevention Week is Oct 4 - 10

10/3/09 Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) remind Georgians that Fire Prevention Week is October 4-10.  The theme this year is, “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned!”

This year, Oxendine and fire personnel around the state will be spreading the word about ways to keep homes fire safe and prevent painful burns. Additionally, fire safety educators will be teaching local residents how to plan and practice escape from a home in case a fire occurs.

The statistics are staggering. Each year roughly 100 people die as a result of home fires and burns in Georgia, and more than 200,000 individuals are seen in the nation’s emergency rooms for burn injuries.

“The most common types of burn injuries result from fire or flame burns, scalds and contact burns,” said Commissioner Oxendine. “Burns are painful and can result in serious scarring and even death. When we take extra caution in our homes to ensure that the curling iron is out of children’s reach or pot handles are turned away from the edge of the stove, such injuries are entirely preventable. Keeping our homes safe from fire and preventing devastating burn injuries is a healthy change we can make happen.”

By following simple safety rules, you can “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned.”

•           Keep hot foods and liquids away from tables and counter edges so they cannot be pulled or knocked over.

•           Have a 3-foot “kid-free” zone around the stove.

•           Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot food or drinking a hot beverage.

•           Be careful when using things that get hot such as curling irons, oven, irons, lamps, heaters.

•           Install tamper-resistant receptacles to prevent a child from sticking an object in the outlet.

•           Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle, portable heater, lit fireplace or stove, or where a hot appliance might be in use.

•           Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.

•           Set your hot water temperature no higher than 120 degrees.

•           Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.

For more information on planned activities, please contact your local fire department or call Commissioner Oxendine's Fire Safety Education Division at 404-657-0831.   

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