Beach bonfires beget burns
July 4th, 2008, 3:00 am · Post a Comment · posted by Leigh Boerner
It’s all fun and games until someone puts the fire out.
Bonfires and barbecues are favorite summertime occupations, but they can also be treacherous says UC Irvine Regional Burn Center Director Dr. Marianne Cinat. Severe burns can result, especially in children.
“We probably see up to 25 cases a year. We tend to see a spike in June and July, and a high risk weekend is July 4th,” Cinat said.
Many of these cases come from beach fire pits. There are two types of fire pits found on beaches in Orange County. In Huntington Beach, the fire pits sit a very visible 18 inches off of the ground, Cinat says. But the older style ones like those found in Corona Del Mar are flatter to the surface of the sand, which can be more dangerous.
To extinguish the beach bonfires, many people pour sand on top of live coals. And while this does extinguish the flames, the coals keep smoldering beneath the surface. Since this isn’t visible from the top, it creates a veritable land mine for a kid at play nearby.
“The sand traps heat and creates underground oven. It can last several hours,” Cinat says.
The majority of these burns occur the next day, long after the flames are out and the party’s over. Burn victims tend to be toddlers that crawl around the fire pit, or seven to ten year old kids that play Frisbee or football around the pit, then trip and fall in.
“About half [of the burn cases] are severe enough that they’re in the hospital for several weeks,” Cinat says. But they do also see a lot of treat and release cases.
If you do get burned, Cinat says, the first thing to do is to rinse the area for five to ten minutes with tepid water. This will cool down the burn, but be careful not to use very cold water. It may feel good, Cinat says, but cold can cause tissue damage, too. Alternatively, a cool towel can be placed on the burn. But then go straight to the emergency room.
Instead of extinguishing a fire with sand, Cinat suggests drenching the coals in water, waiting five minutes, then drenching them again. If there’s no water around, simply let the coals burn out.
By taking these simple steps and being aware, Cinat says, most burn injuries can be avoided.
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