CHILD – RESISTANT DOES NOT MEAN CHILD – PROOF!!!!
Lighters can be a serious concern for children starting fires. Statistics show that before 1994 children under the age of 5 were reported to cause about 7,100 fires resulting in about 200 deaths, 1,400 injuries, and about $114.6 million dollars in property damage each year. Total societal cost was about $1.2 billion dollars.
In 1994 the CPSC attempted to regulate this growing concern and required most lighters in the United States, both cigarette and novelty lighters, attractive to children to contain a child-resistant mechanism. The idea was a great one. By creating this device on lighters it helped reduce the number of fires, injuries, and deaths significantly. The problem is child-resistant does not mean child-proof and although the numbers have gone down these fires still occur.
The pass or fail of a child-resistant mechanism is based on a percentage basis. In a study conducted by the CPSC on children form the ages of 42 to 51 months lighters with no fuel or fire were used to determine if and how these mechanisms could be operated by children under the age of five. In the test an audible alarm was used in place of the fire to determine if the lighter operated. The product design must pass with at least an 85% success rate that children at this age level cannot operate the mechanism in order to be sold in the United States.
In a second study data was collected from actual fires in some 31 states in about 108 fire jurisdictions after the requirements were in place. In this study 375 fires over a two year period resulted in 23 deaths and 95 injuries (CPSC data). ONE HUNDRED LIGHTERS WERE COLLECTED FROM FIRES STARTED BY CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE- 71 cigarette lighters and 29 multi-purpose lighters. So what does all this mean?
Child-resistant does not mean child-proof!!!!
The Atascocita Fire Department works very hard during fire prevention week to discuss the importance of not playing with matches, lighters and cigarettes to all school age children up to grade five. The problem is we are not exposed to children under the age of five until they reach school age. Our goal is to make you the parent, grandparent, brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle or friend aware about the possibility that a young child you know has the capabilities of lighting a lighter and becoming burned or starting a fire. We offer the following suggestions so that you can make an effort to teach to the young ones the importance of not playing with fire.
Ø Never leave matches lighters or cigarettes anywhere a young child could reach them.
Ø Never play with a lighter around your children---Children often imitate what they see.
Ø Never allow children to light candles, fires, or use matches or lighters without adult supervision.
Ø Teach your children the importance of fire safety.
Ø Teach your children to come get you if they find matches lighters or cigarettes.
Ø Check your smoke detectors once a month and change batteries twice a year.
Ø Practice escape routes, 2 exits, one meeting place and how to call 911.
Members in your department have seen the devastation a house fire causes. Don’t let it happen to you. Practice fire safety with your children and remember that child-resistant does not mean child-proof.
