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Experts raise awareness on how to prevent burns

By Joseph Okoghenun
17 November 2016   |   3:44 am
As the incidence of burns continued to rise across the federation, experts have advised Nigerians to put in place safety precautionary measures to avoid the scenario.
National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi

National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi

As the incidence of burns continued to rise across the federation, experts have advised Nigerians to put in place safety precautionary measures to avoid the scenario.

The experts, who gave the advice recently during Burn Prevention Awareness Week organised by the Burns and Plastic Surgery Department of the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi (NOHI), Lagos, stated that many of the burn cases being experienced across the federation were preventable.

As part of the event, burn and plastic surgeons and other experts walked from the hospital premises in Igbobi through Somolu to Yaba and back to the hospital premises through Fadeyi to educate members of the public on how to prevent burn.

Head of Department, Burns and Plastic Surgery at NOHI, Dr. Folake Abikoye, said ignorance was often responsible for wrong action among Nigerians when there is fire outbreak, adding that there were many precautionary measures to prevent incidence of burns. “There are so many safety precautions available,” Abikoye said.

“Many Nigerians do not know what to do when they have fire outbreak; they will run away. Many organisations do not have fire extinguisher and muster points where people can gather if there is fire outbreak .As children grow, they tend to explore; they go to sockets among others. Parents should lock those socket points so that children would not get in metals that will make them to sustain burn injuries.”

The plastic surgeon continued: “For the mothers, when they cook, they should make sure they have a segregated area so that children would not go there. Sometimes, some mothers take hot water to bathroom, instead of mixing the water before taking it into the bathroom. It is not good to wear flowing gowns in the kitchen. Remember that the fabrics that you wear matters. Women should wear smart clothes while cooking. Cotton fabrics are better in the kitchen, because if there is any fire outbreak in the kitchen, nylon clothes would stick to the skin, thereby causing deeper burns, unlike cotton fabrics.

“Men should put on their gloves and boots, and all other safety precautions. The use of candle to refuel generators should be discouraged. There is also the need for the country to provide regular fuel supply to prevent hording of fuel by Nigerians.”

Chief Fire Superintendent in the Nigerian Fire Training School, Mr. Michael Osiwere, urged Nigerians to maintain good housekeeping habits, in order to make exits easy when there is fire incidence at home. He also called for the need to have a good fire plan in place, saying “if there is fire outbreak, family members should know beforehand a safe place to run to for safety.”

Osiwere advised parents not to allow children to come close to burner, or stove, saying they were capable of causing havocs for young people. “Also, learn to put matches away from children,” he advised.Osiwere also discouraged against the storage of petroleum products at home, saying they were capable of igniting fire at home.

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