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Every year, 120,000 children suffer some form of permanent damage
due to accidental injuries, such as permanent brain damage from a head
injury, long-term breathing problems from smoke inhalation, disfigurement
from burns, or liver or kidney damage from poisoning.   According
to data from the National SAFE KIDS Campaign:

Accidental, or unintentional, injury is the leading cause of death
among children, teens and young adults.
The five leading
causes of accidental injury are burns, motor vehicle accidents, falls, poisonings and
drowning.
Burns and fires
are the fourth most common causes of accidental death in children.
Nearly 75 percent
of all burns in children are preventable.
Nearly 2,900
adults and children die every year in fires or from other burn inju</span><span
class="Header--Char" style=" font-size: 10pt;">ries.
Toddlers and
children are more often burned by a scalding or flames.
The majority
of children ages 4 and under, who are hospitalized for burn-related
injures, suffer from scald burns (65 percent) or contact burns (20 percent).
Hot tap water
burns cau</span><span class="Header--Char" style=" font-size: 10pt;">se
more deaths and hospitalizations than burns from any other hot liquids.  

Fire/burns,
motor vehicle traffic accidents, suffocation and accidental falls are
the leading causes of unintentional deaths of children under the age
of five in Illinois.  Numerous Illinois children also die each
year as a result of domestic violence. 

While it may be impossible
to eliminate all the dangers children encounter in their homes, one
of the most important factors in reducing those hazards is knowledge. 
The Home Safety Checklist will help you identify any hazards that may
exist in your home.

FIRE and BURNS

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
No

N

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
Yes 

Y

1.
My home has a working smoke detector

 
 

2.
The smoke detector is located near my familys sleeping areas.

 
 

3.
I know how to test and replace the smoke detector battery.

 
 

4. My family has a fire escape plan. 

 
 

5. We practice the plan so that we can respond
quickly in case there is a fire. 

 
 

Young children in Illinois
are more than three times as likely to die in a residential fire than
the rest of the states population.  Working smoke detectors save
lives! 

6. My preschoolers and younger children do not
have access to matches or lighters.

 
 

7. I never use my stove oven or burners to heat
my home.

 
 

Forty percent of residential
fire-related deaths among children are caused by child fire play. 
Up to two-thirds of child fire-play victims are not the children playing
with the fire.  Always place space heaters at least three feet
from combustible materials such as furniture, walls and curtains. 
Other items such as blankets, clothing and paper should be kept a safe
distance for the heater.   Supervision of children will prevent
fire play as well as other accidents.

 

FIRE and BURNS
(Continued)
Y
N

8. The hot water in my home does not come out of
the tap at scalding temperatures.

 
 

To measure your hot water temperature, place a thermometer under the
stream of water from a kitchen or bathroom faucet.  Keep the thermometer
in the stream of water until the recorded temperature stops rising.   
The water temperature may be measured with outdoor, candy or digital
thermometers.  Your hot water heater should be set no higher than
120° Fahrenheit to prevent scald burns to children. Childrens skin
is thinner than an adults skin and infants and young children will
suffer partial and full-thickness (second and third degree) burns after
ten seconds in 130° F water, four seconds in 135° F water, one second
in 140° F water and one half second in 149° F water.  The correct
temperature for an infants bath water is between 96.8° and 102.2° F. 
Never place your child in a bath or under running water without first
checking the temperature of the water. 

9. I do not keep hot items, such as those listed
below, within the reach of my infant, toddler or younger child.

 
 

10. I always turn pot handles towards the back
of the stove when they are on the stove.

 
 

The majority of scald
burns to children, especially among those ages six months to two years,
are from hot foods and liquids spilled in the kitchen.  Kitchens
can be especially dangerous