Family tells story to warn others Auckland | Tuesday, 7 August 2007

The Bridge family brought the story of four-year-old Corwin's horror burns to the Rodney Times as a warning to other parents.

They say no matter how well you believe you have trained your children in fire safety, be extra careful because youngsters seem to be able to find a way around almost any barrier.

Corwin, who is autistic, was trained by his parents to fear fire.

"The winter is not yet over and we would hate anything similar to happen to anyone else," says Corwin's father Simon.

"I was struck by the fact that even the serious burns unit at Middlemore had run short of beds because of an influx of burn victims."

If your child - or any other person - suffers a burn, St John Ambulance says ensure no one else is in danger from chemicals, electricity, fire or other agents that caused the injury.

Call for an ambulance straight away for burns larger than a patient’s hand or if the burn involves the face, neck, hands, feet, joints or genitals.

You should also call if the patient is in a lot of pain, is very old or young, or has a significant chronic medical problem.

Flood the area with cold water - though not ice cold - for 20 minutes to reduce pain and damage.

St John says you should not try to remove clothing stuck to the skin, or put any creams on the burns.

If possible, remove any restrictive jewellery and lightly cover the burn with cling film or a clean dressing to prevent infection.

Design to reduce fire risk

Strict rules apply to children's pyjamas.

The Product Safety Standards Regulations 2005 (children's nightwear and limited daywear having reduced fire hazard) apply to all nightwear from size 00 to 14.

They aim to ensure that all nightwear is either designed to reduce fire danger or is made of fabrics that are less likely to burn if they do catch fire.

The Commerce Commission is responsible for enforcing the standard and says it has four categories of acceptable nightwear.

Category one covers garments made from fabrics with low flame properties.

Category two is for garments which because of their design are less likely to catch alight and, if they do, the spread of flames is reduced because of the design features.

Category three covers all-in-one style garments made mainly from knitted fabrics in sizes 00 to 2.

Category four garments are assigned a high flammability rating.

The standard sets burn tests for each category and for categories two, three and four; it also sets out design and dimension specifications.

Garments that do not meet the requirements of any of these categories are considered to have a high flammability rating and are therefore unacceptable as nightwear.

For example, the commission says a thin cotton ankle-length nightgown would catch fire much more easily than a fitting pair of cotton pyjamas.

All garments covered by the standard must have labels permanently attached and clearly visible.

If the garment consists of two or more pieces, such as pyjamas, both pieces must be labelled.

Meanwhile, the Consumers Institute has urged caution with gas fires and heaters.

Spokesman Hamish Wilson says the institute believes radiant type portable heaters are a danger.

"They are not suitable for heating rooms where there may be young children," he says.

"If there is no alternative, they should be used with a suitable fireguard so children can’t get close enough to be burned."

Mr. Wilson says wall and fireplace mounted radiant style models should also be fitted with fixed guards.

Back to home