Fire and Burn Prevention

The Problem

Fires and burns are the third leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 14. Each year, approximately 488 children ages 14 and under die in residential fires and another 116,600 are injured by fire- or burn-related incidents. Children ages 4 and under are at much higher risk for these injuries than adults.

Two out of three times when a child is injured or dies from a residential fire, a smoke alarm is not working or not present. Having a working smoke alarm is very important. It reduces the chance of dying in a fire by nearly half.

What We Do

Safe Kids Worldwide teaches parents, caregivers and children about how children can be injured or killed by fire and burns. After a fire, people in an affected community often pay more attention to fire prevention messages. Safe Kids coalitions in communities where a child has been injured or killed make special efforts including community education and installation of smoke alarms in homes at high risk.

We also advocate for child safety laws to reduce fire and burn risks, like child safety caps on gasoline cans and a ban on novelty lighters.

The Results

We have developed many easy-to-use tools to teach and remind families about fire safety, including:

• Games and activities for children
• A growth chart with fire safety for different ages
• A parent guide with a room-by-room approach to fire and burn safety and a detachable escape plan grid
• Ecards to remind people to change their smoke alarm batteries when they change their clocks

Fire and burn safety initiatives are sponsored by the U.S. Fire Administration, an agency of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.