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Municipal Affairs
October 2, 2009

Provincial Government Urges Residents to Stay Fire Smart! Don�t Get Burned.

Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for Fire Prevention Week 2009 � October 4-10 � to urge Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to Stay Fire Smart! Don�t Get Burned. This year�s campaign focuses on ways to keep homes fire safe and prevent painful burns.

"The statistics of burn-related injuries are staggering," said the Honourable Dianne Whalen, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister Responsible for Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador. "Each year roughly 3,000 people die throughout the country as a result of home fires and burns, and countless more are seen in emergency rooms for burn injuries."

The most common types of burn injuries result from fire or flame burns, scalds and contact burns. Burns are painful and can result in serious scarring and even death.

"When residents take extra caution in their 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, injuries are entirely preventable," said Minister Whalen. "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 three-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, ovens, 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.

Fire Prevention Week is actively supported by fire departments across the province. For 85 years, fire departments have observed Fire Prevention Week, making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record.

For more information on Stay Fire Smart! Don�t Get Burned. visit www.firepreventionweek.org

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Media contact:

Bradley Power
Public Relations Specialist
Fire and Emergency Services-Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-0857, 697-5216
BradleyPower@gov.nl.ca

2009 10 02                                                     12:25 p.m.
 


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