Editor’s Note:

Unii offers a comprehensive Paediatric First Aid Course that was created with Unii Expert Sonia Sinclair and Siren First Aid, the company founded by Unii Fire Safety Expert Steven Priestley. We suggest taking this as a complement to this Fire Safety course. Episode Four of the PFA Journey, which covers CPR, will be an especially useful adjunct.

However, we’d still like to go through burn and smoke inhalation support here, as well as cover exactly what to tell the emergency services if you need to call them without a fire.

Remember, you may think some of what follows will come to you at the moment, but please consider that few of us know how we will respond in the event of a fire or when we see a loved one hurt or unconscious. Knowing this information in advance and making everyone in your home aware of it could prevent a bad situation from becoming worse or even fatal.

First Aid for Burns

If you or a member of your household is burned, begin first aid by stopping the burning process as soon as possible. This may mean removing yourself or the person from the area, dousing flames with water (provided it’s not a pan or electrical fire), or smothering flames with a blanket. If you are helping someone else, never put yourself at risk of getting burned as well.

Remove any clothing or jewellery near the burnt area of skin, including babies' nappies. It may be your first instinct, but do not try to remove anything that's stuck to the burned skin, as this could do more harm.

Cool the burn with cool or lukewarm running water for 20 minutes, as soon as possible after the injury. Never use ice, iced water, butter or cream on a burn.

Keep yourself or the person warm. Use a blanket or layers of clothing, but avoid putting them on the injured area. Keeping warm will prevent hypothermia, where a person's body temperature drops below 35 °C (95 °F). This is a risk if you're cooling a large burnt area, particularly in young children and elderly people.

Cover the burn with cling film. Lay the cling film over the burn, rather than wrapping it around a limb. A clean, clear plastic bag can be used for burns on your hand.

Raise the affected area, if possible. This will help to reduce swelling.

Fire-related injuries to go to the hospital about:

Large burns bigger than the size of the affected person's hand
Deep burns of any size that cause white or charred skin
Burns on the face, neck, hands, feet, any joints, or genitals
All chemical and electrical burns
Any signs of shock—symptoms include cold, clammy skin, sweating, rapid, shallow breathing, and weakness or dizziness.
Any burn to a baby. They cannot tell you how much it hurts.

You should also go to the hospital if you or the person who has been burned is under the age of ten, has a medical condition – such as heart, lung, or liver disease, or diabetes – or a weakened immune system, for example, because of HIV or AIDS, or because they're having chemotherapy for cancer. If someone has breathed in smoke or fumes, they should also get medical attention at the hospital.

Some fire exposure symptoms may be delayed and can include:

coughing
a sore throat
difficulty breathing
singed nasal hair
facial burns

Electrical burns

Electrical burns may not always look serious, but they can be very damaging. Someone who has an electrical burn should seek immediate medical attention at an A&E department.

If the person has been injured by a low-voltage source (up to 220 to 240 volts), such as a domestic electricity supply, safely switch off the power supply or remove the person from the electrical source using a material that doesn't conduct electricity, such as a wooden stick or broom handle. The safest way is to turn off the electricity at the mains. Be aware that at night this could mean treating the burn in the dark.

Do not touch or even approach a person who's connected to a high-voltage source (i.e. 1,000 volts or more). If in doubt, treat all electric incidents as high voltage to be on the safe side.

Smoke Inhalation

The signs and symptoms of smoke inhalation can vary depending on the severity of the exposure, but they should always be taken seriously.

Smoke contains low levels of oxygen and raised levels of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particles, and other chemicals. Smoke inhalation causes a decreased conscious level at the time of the injury and, subsequently, can cause lung injury and worsen the inflammatory consequences of burns. The combination of smoke inhalation and burns is a greater fatality risk than a burn injury alone.

Even mild exposure to smoke may cause coughing, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. More severe exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness.

Other common symptoms include:

There are visible signs of ash and smoke around the mouth and nose.
Grey or black saliva.
Chest pain or tightness.
Hoarse voice.
Blurred vision.
Numbness or tingling in the extremities.
Burns inside the mouth, nose, or throat.

Basic First Aid for Smoke Inhalation

If you are with someone who has inhaled smoke, it is important to follow the steps below:

Get the person to safety and into fresh air if it is safe for you to do so.
If the person is showing the above symptoms, you should call 999 immediately.
It is better to sit with hands on their head and to tilt the head back to open the airway.
If the person is alert, ask them whether they have any medical conditions.
If the person is not breathing, perform CPR as instructed in Unii’s Paediatric First Aid Journey. Unii always recommends that parents and other caregivers learn basic first aid, including CPR.
Ensure the person seeks medical attention to be assessed for more serious health implications. If left untreated, severe smoke inhalation can be fatal due to complications.

If someone in your family has asthma and inhales smoke, it is important to follow their asthma action plan. They may need to use your reliever medication more often than usual, and you may need to increase the dose. If your symptoms are getting worse, seek medical help immediately.

If they don’t have an asthma action plan, it is important to get them to your doctor as soon as possible so that one can be developed. Smoke can irritate your lungs and make it difficult to breathe, and a severe asthma attack can be fatal.

It is also important to keep any asthma action plan up-to-date and to always have their reliever medication with them (though, as we’ve stressed, nobody should stop when exiting or run back into a burning building to retrieve anything).

What to Tell Emergency Services When Calling About a Fire

Once you and your family have escaped the scene of a fire, call 999 for help.
Speak slowly and clearly.
Give your full address, including the town.
Say exactly what kind of property is on fire (e.g., a two-story house);
Make it clear if anyone is trapped and which room they are in.
If you are trapped, call 999 and tell the operator that you can't get out. Get everyone into one room with a window and a phone, and shut the door. Put something around the door (like bedding) to stop smoke from getting in. Open the window and shout “FIRE!”.

The more information the fire service has, the quicker it can get to you and act appropriately when it gets there.

What first aid can I perform if there's a fire at home?

First aid for burns and other fire-related issues.