NEW ORLEANS — Children are at home more these days because of virtual schooling and that means more time in the kitchen.
Some may have even tried cooking on their own. That has prompted doctors to start a new type of safety program.
“Because of the pandemic, we've really noticed there's been an increase in these fires and burns that happen within the home,” said Dr. Nicole Kopari, Pediatric Burn Medical Director at Children's Hospital.
Dr. Kopari says children older than five usually have flame burns from playing with matches or candles. Younger than five, it's usually scalding burns from water, bathtubs, grease or cooking.
“Where the parents are cooking and they turn around to put their food on their table, and then the kids run into the kitchen and they run into the parents,” she explained.
And cold weather adds to the injuries.
“Last year for sure when we had that cold spell, we had a lot of space heater burns, also exposure to carbon monoxide,” Dr. Kopari said.
“Never cook grease (on a high flame), never turn your burners up unless you're just boiling water. There's no reason to ever turn a burner up to high,” said Captain Edwin Holmes, Public Information Officer for the New Orleans Fire Department, who says to but grease on a medium flame.
So Children's Hospital is teaming up with the New Orleans Fire Department for a first-of-its-kind kitchen fire safety program.
Some tips: Never put metal in the microwave and always cover a grease fire in a pan with the lid.
“Any injury or thing of that nature involving a child really touches us, because most of us are you know, fathers, uncles, and we have kids and we can relate,” Holmes said.
The NOFD has a special fire education safety trailer so children can get hands-on experience in fire prevention.
The New Orleans firefighters will teach the children to crawl down low, where the air is better to breathe. High up, there's a lot of smoke. When they get to the door, they'll teach them to feel it with the back of their hands, because it's more sensitive to heat. And if the door is hot, don't go through it. Go out of a window.
“Small children or pets in the home, fireplaces, candles, and space heaters, are something you should always stay cautious about,” Capt. Holmes warned.
And that's the main tip all of these need supervision at all times.
The fire prevention demonstration will be at the Audubon zoo Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon.