It is vitally important to accurately determine the severity of the burn before you start treatment. Burns fall into three categories, from first to third degree; treatment for burns differs depending on whether it is considered minor or major.

First Degree burns impact only the outer layer of the skin. The skin will usually be red with some swelling and pain at the site. There will be no blistering. First degree burns are considered minor burns unless they cover a substantial portion of the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks or a major joint.

Second Degree burns go through the first layer of the skin and the second layer is also damaged. Blisters will develop; the skin will redden with a splotchy appearance and the person will have pain and swelling. If the burn is no larger than three inches in diameter it can be treated as a minor burn. If it is larger than three inches or is on the hands, feet, face, groin or buttocks or over a major joint, it is considered a major burn.

Third Degree burns involve all layers of the skin and permanent tissue damage. The burn area may be charred or appear dry and white, but the person will feel no pain. If the person is suffering from smoke inhalation, he will have difficulty breathing. Third degree burns are always major burns.

First Aid for Minor Burns

• Cool the burn by holding the area under cold running water for at least five minutes. An alternative is to immerse the area in cold water or use cold compresses. Using ice on a burn can cause frost bite and more damage to the skin.
• Cover the burn with a sterile gauze bandage. Wrap the gauze loosely.
• Use over-the-counter pain relievers like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil or Motrin for example), maproxen (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol or others).
• Keep an eye on the burn for signs of infection: increased pain and redness, fever, swelling or oozing. If an infection occurs, go to your doctor. Use sunscreen on the area for at least a year.
• Butter or other ointments prevent proper healing. If the minor burn forms a blister, try to avoid breaking it as that would expose the sensitive second layer of damaged skin and could lead to infection.

First Aid for Major Burns

• Call 911.
• Do not remove the burnt clothing, just make sure the person is no longer exposed to smoke or heat or is in contact with smoldering material.
• Do not immerse the burn in cold water. This could cause the person to go into shock.
• Check for breathing, coughing or movement, all signs of circulation. If the person is not breathing, start CPR.
• Cover the area with a moist, sterile bandage, cloth or towel.
• If possible, raise the burned body parts above heart level.

In a situation when someone catches on fire, panic can be more dangerous than the flames.

You learned this in grade school. It’s simple and it could save a life.

STOP where you are

DROP to the ground

ROLL around on the ground

The natural impulse is to run. All that does is feed more oxygen to the fire. The purpose of the above exercise is to smother the flames.

You could find yourself trapped in a room of a burning structure for a number of reasons: both your escape routes could be blocked by flames, you could be in a multi-story building with no secondary escape. Now is the time to know what to do when you’re trapped by a fire.

We’re assuming fire fighters are either en route or on the scene. The situation would be very dire if the burning structure were far from emergency services. In these types of high risk situation — rural areas, family members with mobility issues, older homes — smoke alarms are not an option, they are a necessity.

We’re also assuming you’ve felt the door and determined there are smoke and flames blocking your exit.

• First, block the entry of smoke by putting damp towels, or any other absorbent cloth, under the door.
• If you have a land line in the room, or you have your cell phone, call emergency services to notify them of your location in the building. This information can be relayed to the fire fighters on the scene.
• Open a window to signal for help and to maintain fresh air. Do not break the window. If smoke starts to seep into the room, you will have to close the window to keep it from sucking more smoke in. In the chaos of a burning building, the best way to signal is to wave a sheet or large cloth.
• Wait for help.

Often, fire safety depends on quick thinking and the knowledge of what to do when…..

Most of this section is dedicated to those “worst case scenarios” we rarely ever consider. The information provided is short and sweet, easy to remember.

Even though this site outlines all the  ways to prevent home fires and how to safely evacuate in the event it happens, you still need a Plan B. Think of the following pages as that plan.

Not to Fight a Fire

Knowing when NOT to fight a fire is as important as knowing how to fight it.

When You’ve evacuated your family, called 911, grabbed the fire extinguisher you know how to use and now you’re ready to face the demon. Only problem, the little wastebasket fire that set off your smoke alarm has caught the living room draperies on fire. Now what? That fire extinguisher looks pretty puny. Do you play the hero, like David and his sling shot facing a fiery Goliath? Hell no!

Here are the situations that should scream “get out of the house, now.” Remember, most residential fire extinguishers have less than a minute, much less, of suppressant material. Do not fight the fire….

• If the fire has spread beyond the spot where it started, like the worst case scenario above.
• If you can’t fight the fire with your back to an escape exit. Remember in the section on fire extinguisher, we recommended placing the extinguisher next to an exit. This is why. If you can’t get to the fire without trapping yourself in a corner, don’t even try.
• If the fire could block your only escape. This sounds like the situation above, but it isn’t. Picture what would happen if the fire grew despite your best efforts with the extinguisher. If part of that enlarged fire footprint could prevent your safe evacuation, forget the fire and leave.
• If you don’t have adequate fire fighting equipment. We’re not talking about that grease fire in your frying pan. Just put the lid on the pan and turn off the burner. You don’t have to fly out of the house because you don’t have a fire extinguisher. We’re talking about that wastebasket fire that has caught bottom of the drapes, the electrical fire that has eaten through the dry wall. All situations a fire extinguisher could make a dent in. If you have no means of fighting the fire, leave.

You need a home fire escape plan even if you have lived in your home for years and know every inch of it by heart. Why do you need an escape plan? The answer is found in the very nature of fire.

• In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can grow into a major fire.
• Room temperatures at floor level, the coolest part of the room, can reach 100 degrees. Inhaling super-heated air can scorch your lungs.
• The smoke generated by a fire is blinding black.
• The panic and disorientation of waking to a burning home is not the time to figure out your exit strategy.
• Smoke kills more people than fire.

The only way to escape unharmed from a home fire is to leave quickly and not go back in. Each member of your family needs to know their role in an escape plan and know it by heart. Within those 30 seconds when a flame can become a fire, you and your family will not have time to think, only to react.

The plan starts with a grid layout of your home. Indicate every room, door and window. Then, mark in two exit routes from each room and out of the house. If one escape route is through a window, make sure the window can be easily opened by the everyone in the family and screens taken out quickly. If you have security bars on your windows, they should have quick release devices. Second story windows can be used as secondary escape routes if there is an adjacent roof within easy reach or you have an Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL) approved collapsible ladder.

If you have infants, disabled or elderly people in your household, map out a route to their rooms and determine who will help them to escape safely.

Indicate a location a safe distance from the home for all family members to meet and take attendance. Don’t take up valuable time calling 911from the home. Just get out and make the call from a neighbor’s home.

The most important part of the plan is the practice, especially for families. Ideally, every member of your family should be able to safely use both escape routes from every room in the house. As mentioned in the Safety Checklist, the younger the children, the more frequent the practice. Turn these exit drills into valuable lessons in fire safety. Quiz small children in between drill exercises to make sure they have retained the information. If they fail the quiz, practice again.

Additional Tips for a Safe Escape

Some fire safety agencies recommend sleeping with bedroom doors closed to reduce the spread of smoke and heat. That may not be practical for families with small children. A safe compromise is to install smoke alarms on the ceilings just outside the bedrooms.

Before you open a closed door, feel the top of the door, the doorknob and the crack between the door and door frame. If you feel heat, use your secondary escape route. Oxygen-starved flames can literally explode into a room. Even if the door does not feel hot, open it slowly with your shoulder braced against it. If heat and smoke flow into the room, slam the door, secure it and escape by the secondary route.

If both escape routes are impenetrable, stay in the room with the door closed. Place a barrier, a towel for instance, under the door. If there is a land line or cell phone in the room, call the fire department to alert them to your location. Even if firefighters are on site, the dispatcher can pass on the information. Open a window from the top and bottom, if possible. Do not break the window. Signal to those on the ground.

If the home or hallways are thick with smoke, crawl along the floor where the smoke will be less dense and the temperature cooler. Cover your mouth and nose to help filter out smoke and fumes.

Do not reenter a home once you have escaped. If a family member is missing, tell the firefighters. It is safer for a fireman to locate and rescue one person than for a panic-stricken family member to rush back into a burning building.

Remember, the best thought out escape plan will not get you out of your home safely: practicing that plan will.