Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service are today issuing a repeat warning about the fire risks associated with wearing loose clothing near naked flame heat sources after a further loose clothing fire incident on Monday (18th April).
The Service have recently reported the development of the 'Loose Clothing' campaign which has been on-going in the Nelson, Burnley and Blackburn areas of Lancashire over recent weeks and today crews are seeking to reinforce those messages.
Since December, there have been four incidents where peoples clothing has ignited after coming into close contact with real flame heat sources, such as gas fires and sadly, on Monday (18th April) there was a fifth incident occurred involving an 11 year old girl in Brierfield.
Firefighters and Community Fire Safety staff are again urging those people who wear lightweight, loose fitting to stand well back and "Keep a Metre from the Heater" and to share the message with family and friends.
Station Manager Tony Ashworth from Nelson fire station had this to say:
"It's clearly very concerning that there's been an increase in these types of incidents and so we're keen to raise as much awareness of the issue as possible, particularly in our Asian communities where this type of loose fitting garment is often worn. Clothing can ignite much easier and quicker than people may realise and if a person perhaps has health or mobility issues they could be in real danger of serious injury if their clothing does catch fire and they are unable to get help."
In 2013, 12 year old Salia Maqsood was brave enough to share her story about what happened to her after she was brushing her hair, using a mirror that was located above a fireplace. Thankfully Salia is recovering well from her injuries, but it is thanks to her family's quick thinking that she was able to get treatment she needed.
Whilst these most recent incidents have specifically involved women from within the Asian community, the loose clothing issue however, isn't just an isolated problem.
Firefighter Shahbaz Shah has been heavily involved with raising awareness of the issue in his local area of Nelson and had this to say,
"We really need people to listen and most importantly share these messages with their family and friends. These fires can happen so quickly and have such devastating consequences that we want as many people as possible to be aware of the risks and to have an understanding of what to do if they see someone's clothing ignite."
If you see someone whose clothing has caught fire:
- Tell them to STOP – DROP and ROLL to extinguish any flames
- Get them away from the heat source
- Try to cool the burns with running cool or lukewarm water. Do not use ice, ice water or oily creams on the burn.
- If possible try to cover the burn with cling film as this will help prevent infection
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