MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Chief Michael E. Figolah, Mount Prospect Fire Department

From the January 2007 newsletter... Chief Mike Figolah, President
Hope everyone is doing well. The obvious reason for conducting Camp is to support burn survivors, but did you ever think about the other benefits? Well, there are many, including the ability to identify specific causes of burn injuries. We, as a burn prevention organization, have to make sure our prevention programs are targeting areas that need to be targeted.

Here’s an overview of the statistical analysis of the 89 kids that attended camp in 2006:

  • 38 scalds
  • 18 house fires
  • 14 playing with matches/lighter
  • 6 abuse
  • 2 fireworks
  • 2 car fire
  • 2 cooking related
  • 1 electrical
  • 1 candle
  • 1 hot comb
  • 1 vacuum cleaner burn
  • 1 boat explosion
  • 1 natural gas explosion
  • 1 outside burning (leaves)

In addition to the most recent stats we also look at new developing trends. In 2004, 95 children attended Camp. Of those 95, here is the breakdown of how the kids were burned:

  • 30 scalds
  • 13 house fires
  • 12 cooking related
  • 9 Playing with matches/lighter
  • 9 abuse
  • 9 gasoline
  • 7 heating equipment
  • 3 fireworks
  • 3 candles

Comparing the 2006 statistics with 2004 we see that scalds, house fires and playing with matches remain as the top causes. So how does our experience match up with National statistics? According to the National Fire Protection Association 2001 Fire Loss in the U.S:

  • One of every 13 structure fire deaths in the US were caused by a child setting a fire.
  • Children playing with fire account for more than one-third of pre-school child deaths by fire.
  • There are approximately 2.4 million burn injuries reported each year.
  • 650,000 treated by medical professionals
  • 20,000 involve major burns (over 25%)
  • Between 8,000 and 12,000 patients with burns die.
  • Approximately one million will sustain substantial or permanent disabilities from their burn injury.
  • Burn injuries are second to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause accidental deaths in the U.S.
  • From ages 5 to 74 most burns occur outdoors with the next most frequent area being the kitchen.
  • Burns and fires are the leading cause of accidental death in the home for children under 14.
  • Scalds are the leading cause of accidental death in the home for children from birth to age four and 40% of the burn injuries for children up to 14.
  • Children under the age of 10 accounted for an estimated 22.2% of all fire deaths.

As you can see there are burn injury patterns that occur every year in Illinois with only slight variation. National statistics echo what we are seeing. The most alarming statistic is 50% of all burn accidents can be prevented.

We at the IFSA will continue to provide you with quality prevention programs. While we know that our prevention efforts are making a difference, we all have a long way to go!

Mike Figolah
President, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance