Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting Child Safety Week from June 18 to 24.
The brigade’s education Outreach vehicle will be at Meole Brace in Shrewsbury on June 19 and at the Asda supermarket in Donnington, Telford, on June 20.
Officers from the Community Fire Safety team will be on hand to give tips on home fire safety and how to reduce the risk of an accident in the home.
Some easy and simple steps to making your home safer include:
- 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 panhandles away from the front of the cooker
- Keep hot irons, curling tongs and hair straighteners out of reach even when cooling down
Having a working smoke alarm makes a real difference to your chances of surviving a fire that might break out at night, said Rabinder Dhami, of the community fire safety team.
Making a fire escape plan also ensures that everyone gets out of the property safely to meet up away from the danger.
The Child Accident Prevention Trust this year is promoting the message of “small steps to safety” with people making little changes at home to create a safer environment for their 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, warned Rabinder.
Many accidents can be prevented in just a few seconds by moving a dangerous item out of a child’s reach.
