If Your Clothing Is On Fire
Approximately 80 people a year in the UK are killed by their clothes catching fire. Many more are injured or seriously burnt.
Typical Accidents Involve
- Loose fitting clothing, such as a night-dress, being ignited by the naked flame of a gas cooker.
- Loose fitting clothing being ignited due to reaching over a fire in the fireplace to get something off the mantelpiece.
- A dress being ignited by radiant heat where a person has fallen asleep too close to the fire.
- Mirrors over the fireplace also encourage people to stand too close therefore increasing the risk of igniting their clothing from a fire in the fireplace.
If Your Clothing Catches Fire
- Stop - Don't run as this will make the fire worse.
- Drop - Get down on the floor.
- Roll - Roll over to put the flames out.
If Someone Else's Clothes Catch Fire
- Lay them to the ground.
- Wrap them in a coat or rug.
- Roll them around to extinguish the flames.
- If you burn or scald yourself wash the affected area with copious amounts of water and seek medical help.