City of College Station Blog

Grace Hallowell:

What’s up College Station? I’m Grace Hallowell and today I’m joined by Harlei who is the community outreach specialist over at the College Station Fire Department. Hi, Harlei.

Harlei Struck:

Hi, how are you?

Grace Hallowell:

I’m doing well. Burn Awareness Week is coming up.

Harlei Struck:

Yes, ma’am.

Grace Hallowell:

In February. And it is a topic that unless you have been affected by this sort of thing being burned, you might not think of as important.

Harlei Struck:

Yes. So Burn Awareness Week is coming up February 4th through 10th. So that’s definitely something we want to make the public more aware on. You’re right. People aren’t as self-aware of burns if you aren’t fallen victim to it. So we want to bring more awareness to people and highlight things that they should be aware of.

Grace Hallowell:

Right. And some of that starts with some fire safety tips on how to prevent yourself from getting burned. So can you share a few of those with us?

Harlei Struck:

So some tips that people can make note of are when burns do occur is to stop the burning process. Cool with running water, not cold. Ice can actually further damage the skin. So you don’t want it to be too cold. If a burn does happen, cover the burn with a sterile bandage and cloth and administer an over-the-counter pain medicine like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Also, we don’t recommend using any kind of ointments or stuff at home, such as substance that may trap the heat in and the tissue make the burn worse.

Grace Hallowell:

Right, like neosporin.

Harlei Struck:

So there are different classifications of burns. Typically, people experience first-degree burns, but anything other than superficial burns, you want to seek medical treatment just so it doesn’t have an infection or cause further damage for yourself as well.

Grace Hallowell:

What are some tips in the kitchen to prevent burns from happening? I know that’s one of the top places where you can receive a burn.

Harlei Struck:

Absolutely. So one of the biggest things we’ll recommend is to have a no-kids zone in the kitchen. That’s a huge, huge thing. Kids who are under the age of five are twice as likely to receive a burn, and that’s in addition to the 73 percent burn statistic that’s provided in the US. So with that, we want to make sure we have a kid-free zone in the kitchen at least three feet away from stuff. Like you said, you have a personal burn experience and we have a family member who has a burn experience as well. We were cooking ramen noodles of all things, water got too hot, boiled the arm, and obviously accidents happen. You can keep an eye on as much as you want, but if you try to stress in the home that this should be a kid-free area, that can definitely help in preventative measures.

Other things that we want to take place are being aware of such hot things like clothing iron or something you don’t want to touch with your hands. I had a burn experience when I was younger, typically ironed clothes, and I didn’t realize it was hot and I just bold-faced, pushed it like this to get it out so I could eat breakfast in the morning and burn the palm of my hand. So just little things, being aware of common hot items like electrical equipment and such. And being aware of fire safety in the kitchen of grease fires. Don’t throw water on a grease fire and other additional tips like that.

Grace Hallowell:

Burn Awareness Week, awareness is in the name. The goal of it is to raise awareness about burns and safety tips. Is there a theme this year?

Harlei Struck:

So the 2024 theme for the National Burn Awareness Week is flammable liquids. Some tips that we want to make the public aware are to make sure gas cans have a fuel arrestor on the can to prevent flashback. Never use an accelerant such as gasoline or kerosene or an aerosol spray to start a campfire. When fueling lawnmowers, leaf blowers or weed eaters make sure the engines are cool and in an open area and do not use gasoline near a flame source such as a burning leaves or trash. You want to keep at least 12 feet distance between your accelerant and burning flames.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes. That’s very important as we go into the springtime, being outside more, using more lawn equipment.

Harlei Struck:

Absolutely.

Grace Hallowell:

So how can people contribute to Burn Awareness Week if they want to get involved?

Harlei Struck:

Honestly, just becoming aware of situational awareness around you personally within your home, 73 percent of burns take place in home. So being aware of the items in your home that might cause burn or harm to individuals in the household. Also providing information like if you find a safety tip that is beneficial to you in your home, sharing it to additional family members that might have common grounds to meet.

Grace Hallowell:

Right. Like you said, the no-kid rule.

Harlei Struck:

Absolutely. And when you’re transporting hot liquids and such, kind of put those, I don’t want to say hazards, but risk of burn away. If you have children and you’re making the dinner table or something, have somebody else watch them while you’re transporting those hot liquids. You don’t want to accidentally bump them. Kids commonly want to be by your legs or something when you’re walking, give you hug and you don’t want to spill it on them. So have somebody watch them from a distance while you’re setting the table or transporting hot liquids and such. Even pets as well. My dog for one has a knack for hitting my legs when running down the hallway and getting that hazard out of the way would definitely help.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes. And then we did touch on some of what to do if you do get burned, but if you are or if people are questioning, “Is this an emergency? I don’t know how bad this actually is.” They can definitely give you guys a call. Right?

Harlei Struck:

Absolutely. One thing we would recommend is to go to the AmeriBurn website. So it’s A-M-E-R-I-B-U-R-N dot org, and it’ll kind of touch base on basic burn first aid and what the signs to look for if it is a superficial burn in any degree above that, we would recommend seeking medical treatment just so you can take preventative measures and not get infection or such after the fact. That website, along with the nfpa.org, also offers some insight on tips to take once a burn does occur and when you should seek medical treatment.

Grace Hallowell:

Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

Harlei Struck:

Yes, thank you for having me. And hopefully we get the initiative out for bringing awareness to National Burn Awareness Week and get more public involvement to help spread the agenda.

Grace Hallowell:

Yes, and definitely follow you guys on social media.

Harlei Struck:

Absolutely.

Grace Hallowell:

What are your accounts on social media?

Harlei Struck:

So we’re CSTX Fire. Or you can find us on Facebook at College Station Fire Department.

Grace Hallowell:

Gotcha. Well, thank you for joining me, Harlei.

Harlei Struck:

Yes, thank you for having us.

Grace Hallowell:

And that’s what’s up.

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