Municipal Affairs
October 2, 2009Provincial
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
- 30 -
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.