“It was the worst scream I’ve ever heard. It was just bloodcurdling,” Christiansen says. The toddler had scampered up to the gas fireplace in the family’s Spokane, Wash., home and touched the scalding hot glass.
"He was stuck, hands pressed up against the glass,” his mom remembers. “And I just ran as fast as I could and I just grabbed him and peeled him off.” Brandon had third-degree burns on both hands. In the year or so since the accident, he’s had three skin grafts. A fourth operation is scheduled for next month.
"It's horrible," Christiansen says."You never want to see your kid go through something like that."
It’s estimated that hundreds of kids in this country are seriously burned each year by the super-heated glass on gas fireplaces. That glass can reach 500 degrees or more.
Toddlers are naturally attracted to flames. They move so quickly, parents can't always stop them in time. But the danger doesn't go away as soon as the fire is turned off. The glass stays extremely hot long after the flames are gone.
At first glance, it would seem that these terrible accidents could be prevented with better supervision. Pediatrician Beth Ebel is director of the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle. She sees these burns all winter long. Dr. Ebel cautions against blaming the parents who may be unaware of the danger. In fact, they may think the unit is safe because the fire is contained and not accessible to their child.
Safety experts believe this is a design problem that must be addressed by the manufactures. Right now there are no federal regulations that require manufacturers to protect kids (or anyone else) from the hot fireplace glass. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has been asked to do that. But right now, the CPSC is allowing the industry to develop a fix.
“We feel like they are on the right path,” says CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. “And they can do it a lot faster than we could via the regulatory process.”
The industry has proposed new safety standards that would require all new gas fireplaces to come with a barrier that keeps hands and fingers away from the hot glass. In most cases, this would be a screen of some kind that attaches to the frame around the glass.
We’re encouraged because we think we’ve come up with a really good physical barrier,” says Jack Goldman, president of the Hearth, Barbecue & Patio Association. “You will not get a burn from touching the screen, even though maybe an inch away is the glass that is hot.”
If the standard is approved, installers would be required to attach the screen or other barrier that comes with the fireplace before they leave the house. These screens would not block the view of the flames, so the fireplace has the same ambiance – it’s just a lot safer.
Two big companies already offer safety screens. A few years ago, Hearth and Home Technologies made safety screens standard of all of its gas fireplaces.
The Lennox Safety Guard was developed to settle a class action lawsuit. It’s available for both new units and those already installed. (Click here to order your free Safety Guard.)
The consumer advocates prefer a barrier that’s part of the fireplace, so it does not need to be installed and cannot be removed. But they seem willing to watch and wait to see if the industry’s proposed fix works.
“We’ll need to see if these screens are being attached by the installer and if not, we’ll have to push for federal regulations,” says Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety at the Consumer Federation of America.
If you already have a gas fireplace, burn prevention experts encourage you to buy a free-standing screen that goes in front of your fireplace. Most fireplace shops sell them for $100 or less. They’re not perfect, but they’re better than nothing.
The Christiansen’s now have a barrier in front of their fireplace. Shari encourages other parents to realize the danger and guard against it.
Source: Life Inc. Blog, TODAY online, By Herb Weisbaum, The ConsumerMan
No comments:
Post a Comment