Firefighters were in towns across the county this week as part of a campaign by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to support Child safety week.
The brigade’s Outreach Vehicle was in Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Telford to give safety advice.
The Child Accident Prevention Trust this year is promoting the message of Small steps to safety, all about making little changes at home to make a safer environment for your children and family.
Many children who go to hospital with a burn or scald need more treatment and often have a slow and painful recovery and can even be left with permanent scars. Children can suffer burns from hair straighteners, irons, cigarettes and cooking equipment.
Many accidents can be prevented in just a few seconds, just by moving a dangerous item out of children’s reach.
Some easy and simple steps to making your home safer:
- Never hold a hot drink and a child at the same time
- Never leave young children alone in the bathroom
- Put hot drinks out of reach and away from the edges of tables and worktops
- Keep small children out of the kitchen whenever possible
- Lower the temperature of your hot water system to 46°C or fit a thermostatic mixing valve to taps
- When running a bath turn the cold water on first and always test the water temperature before letting a child get into the bath
- Always use rear hotplates and turn the pan handles away from the front of the cooker
- Keep hot irons, curling tongs and hair straighteners out of reach even when cooling down
If a fire breaks out at night, having a working smoke alarm can make a real difference to your chances of surviving, said Delyth Humphreys, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Having a fire escape plan ensures that everyone gets out of the property and meets in a place of safety away from the fire.
