Burn Prevention Activities

Burns are a common injury to children. Each year thousands of children are treated in the hospital for burns. Most burns can be prevented by learning how to escape a fire and by removing fire hazards from the home.

Picture 1 - If your clothes are on fire, stop, drop and roll.

How to Escape a Fire in Your Home

If a fire starts in your home, get out quickly and call the Fire Department or 9-1-1 from a neighbor's house.  Here are some other important points to remember:

1. If clothing catches fire, STOP, DROP AND ROLL (Picture 1). Do not run!
2. Wrap a rug, blanket or coat around you if one is easy to reach. Cover your face with your hands.
3. Roll slowly on the floor or ground until the fire is out.

If Smoke Is Coming Under the Door

1. Do not open the door.
2. Escape through another door or a window.

How to Escape a Smoky Place

1. Cover your face with a cloth and breathe through your nose.
2. Crawl, do not walk.  Keep low to the floor to escape heat and smoke.

Test Doors before Opening Them

• If you think there is a fire on the other side of the door, do not open it.
• Feel the door.  If it is hot, look for another way to escape.
• Keep your head turned away from the door opening.
• Slowly open the door a crack. After pressure is released, get down on your hands and knees and crawl cautiously to safety.

Important Pointers

• Do not jump out of windows if you are higher than the second floor. Jump only as a last resort onto a safe area, such as grass or bushes and not onto a fence. Jump "feet first."
• Smoke detectors save lives! Use them on each floor of your home. Change the batteries twice a year (when you change your clocks for daylight savings time).
• Practice an escape plan so you can make sure everyone is out.  Make sure each family member knows the “meeting place” outside your house (like a certain tree, a fence, etc.)

Burn Prevention Activities (PDF)

HH-IV-60 6/82, Revised 5/10 Copyright 1982-2010, Nationwide Children’s Hospital