Burn Awareness Week February 5th- 10th 2017

2/9/2017 (Permalink)

Every year, the first full week of February is dedicated to Burn Awareness. According to the American Burn Association, “this is designed to provide an opportunity for burn, fire and life safety educators to unity in sharing a common burn awareness and prevention message in our communities.”

Here are the facts provided by the ABA:

• Burn injuries continue to be one of the leading causes of accidental death and injury in the United States.
• Between 2010 and 2014, approximately 486,000 people were seen in Emergency Departments for treatment of non-fatal burn injuries.
• In 2014 alone, there were 3,275 deaths from fires, which includes 2,795 deaths from residential fires, 345 from vehicle crash fires, and 135 from other sources.
• One civilian fire death occurs every 2 hours and 41 minutes.
• The odds of a U.S. resident dying from exposure to fire, flames or smoke are 1 in 1442.
• The primary causes of injury include fire-flame, scalds, electrical and chemicals.
• Men are more likely to be burned than women (68% males and 32% females were seen at a burn unit).
• Most of the injuries occur in the home (73%) followed by work (8%)
• Tragically, children, the elderly, and the disabled are especially vulnerable to burn injuries, and almost one- third of all burn injuries occur in children under the age of 15.
• Children under five are 2.4 times as likely as the general population to suffer burn injuries that require emergency medical treatment.
• Young adults ages 20-29 have a probability of burn injury that is roughly 1.5 times the risk of the general population.
• Today, 96.8% of those who suffer burn injuries will survive. Unfortunately, many of those survivors will sustain serious scarring, life-long physical disabilities, and adjustment difficulties.

With these facts and statistics, it is easy to see why it is so important for the community to understand the dangers that come from burns. Especially when it comes to fire prevention, it is important to take precaution and the necessary steps to prevent possible disasters and injuries.

If you experience and fire in your home or business, call the trusted professionals who have been fighting fire damage for over 30 years. SERVPRO of Richmond is faster to any size disaster and can handle your fire damage with professionalism and precision.