'Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned' is theme for 2009 Fire Prevention Week

  • Published
  • By 341st Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Prevention Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Once a child touches a hot stove, as the cliché goes -- he learns his lesson -- stay away from a hot stove. This cliché does not take into account the pain and suffering from burns, and burns should not be part of the learning process. 

That's why Malmstrom Fire Emergency Services is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association for Fire Prevention Week 2009 - Oct. 4-10 - to urge Malmstrom residents to "Stay Fire Smart! Don't Get Burned." This year's campaign focuses on 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 3,000 people die as a result of home fires and burns, 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 John P. Gilmore, Assistant Fire Chief Fire Prevention. "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 a child'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, 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 country. For 85 years, fire departments have observed Fire Prevention Week, making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record. 

Schedule of Events:
Oct. 4: Children can get a ride on the fire truck from noon to 4 p.m. at the base clinic parking lot.
Oct. 5: Sparky and a fire truck will visit the base library at 10 a.m. during children's story hour.
Oct. 7: A fire education display will be set up at the commissary.
Oct. 8: A fire education display will be set up at the base exchange.
Oct. 10: A fire prevention display with the fire education trailer and a fire truck will be on display at the base exchange in the parking lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Oct. 10: The fire truck parade through the housing area starts at 2:15 p.m.