Home Safety

2012 Burn Awareness Campaign

Burn prevention is a key endeavor of Shriners Hospitals for Children, which is why the health care system began its Burn Awareness campaigns more than 20 years ago. 

Safety Begins at Home

Consider these facts:

• Every day, across the U.S., hundreds of children are taken to emergency rooms for treatment of scald burns caused by contact with hot liquids, steam or foods.
• Approximately 65 percent of children under age 4 hospitalized for burn injuries were scalded by hot liquids.
• Approximately 16,000 children under age 5 are treated in U.S. hospitals for scald burns annually.
• Ninety-five percent of scalds occur in residences.
• Fire causes the death of more than 600 children ages 14 and under each year, and injures about 3,000 more.
• Nearly 50 percent of children injured in fires or fire-related incidents are under age 5.
• More than 60 percent of residential fires that cause the death of a child occur in homes without smoke detectors.

Many of these injuries could have been easily prevented. The 2012 campaign, Be Burn Aware, emphasizes the importance of observing basic precautions to keep everyone – especially children – safe at home.

Meet Boots and Brewster, the Burn Awareness Pair

The campaign introduces two new child-friendly characters, Boots and Brewster, a caped, cuddly bear and a googly-eyed teapot. In two new activity books for ages 3-7 and 8-12, the pair leads children through the various rooms of a house, pointing out dangers, and how to easily correct or avoid them. The booklets also have pages for families to map out a home fire escape plan.

Be Burn Aware Materials for Children and Families

Shriners Hospitals for Children offers a variety of complimentary burn prevention materials, including activity books, posters and fact sheets. To view these materials and place an order, see our materials order page. For more information, contact the public relations department at Shriners International Headquarters by sending an e-mail to shrinepr@shrinenet.org, or calling 813-281-8162.

The following materials are available for download:

Be Burn Aware Tipsheet (PDF)

Shriners Hospitals for Children Fact Sheet (PDF) English Spanish

Important Facts for Parents and Caregivers (PDF) English Spanish

Burn Awareness Lesson Plans for Grades K-3 (PDF) English