Help Spread Scalding Safety and Prevention Messages During Burn Awareness Week
National Burn Awareness Week, an initiative of the American Burn Association, works to mobilize burn, fire, and life safety educators in sharing a common burn awareness and prevention message in their communities.
The theme for this year’s Burn Awareness Week campaign, February 5–11, is "Hot Liquids Burn Like Fire!," which highlights the risk and severity of scald burns from hot liquids such as bathwater, hot drinks, and food products.
Scald burns are the second-leading cause of all burn injuries in the US, with children under five bearing the greatest risk of non-fire cooking burn injuries. They’re also the leading cause of injury from microwave ovens.
In support of this year’s Burn Awareness Week campaign, NFPA® is working to help increase awareness of scalding risks and the steps that can be taken to reduce them.
We have a variety of resources that can be easily downloaded, printed, and shared, such as our scald prevention safety tip sheet, which shares ways to reduce the risk of scald burns from hot bathwater and hot food/liquids. We also have a tip sheet for safe use of microwave ovens, which includes instruction on careful removal and opening of packaged foods, as well as the dangers of heating baby bottles.
NFPA also has a Sparky the Fire Dog® video designed specifically to help kids identify whether common household items are safe to touch. Called Hot, Not Hot, Sometimes Hot video, the video is available on the NFPA Kids YouTube Channel.
Join NFPA and the American Burn Association in observing National Burn Awareness Week by sharing these key burn prevention messages and behaviors with your communities.
