UW Health Kids Provides Safety Tips for Fireplaces

Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 -- 10:00 AM

(WMTV) As winter begins to ramp up, UW Health Kids is offering tips about fireplace safety.

According to UW Health, in the last three years, there have been almost 450 pediatric burn-related hospital admissions to the UW Health Burn and Wound Center. Twenty-five kids were treated for fireplace related burns.

Gas fireplace glass can reach 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit and cause serious burn injures, according to Dr. Angela Gibson, burn and acute care surgeon at UW Health and assistant professor of surgery at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Fireplace surfaces can also remain hot for over an hour after use.

“New walkers, age 11 to 15 months, are at the greatest risk because they are unsteady as they learn to walk and use surfaces for balance,” she said. “They have slower reflexes and may not be able to pull their hands away as quickly. Kids also have thinner skin on their palms which could lead to more serious burns.”

Parents or guardians can do the following to help prevent these types of burns including install a screen barrier and use safety gates for both gas and wood burning fireplaces; closely supervise toddlers and young children around fireplaces, including fireplaces in other people’s homes and in restaurants; and make sure fireplace power switches and remote controls are out of the reach of children.

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