State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey issued safety tips to prevent burns for Burn Awareness Week, Feb. 4-10.
"While we traditionally associate burns with fires, the leading burn problem in Massachusetts is hot liquid scalds to children under 5," Ostroskey said. "Remember that hot liquids burn like fire."
According to the Massachusetts Burn Injury Reporting System, children under 5 account for more than a quarter of all burn injuries. Scalds from hot beverages like coffee and tea, hot water in the tub and spilled cooking liquids caused 84 percent of the burns to children in 2017.
Ostroskey offered several tips to prevent burns, including placing babies and toddlers safely in a high chair or playpen while parents drink hot coffee or tea. The fire marshal advised parents to put drinks and soups toward the center of the table away from curious fingers and to consider replacing tablecloths with placemats to prevent children from pulling things on the table onto themselves.
Keeping children 3 feet away from the stove and barbecue grills can also prevent burns, said Ostroskey.
Older adults also frequently are scalded by hot liquids and steam. Ostroskey advised adults to treat a burn with cool water. Do not use grease, butter, ointments, lotions or fats, he advised, because they can make the burns worse.
For more tips visit www.mass.gov.dfs.
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or jmalachowski@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.