Medical

Published on: October 14, 2011

Burns and Smoke Inhalation from Kitchen Fires Can Be Deadly–and Preventable

In Las Vegas in early October, a casino employee was lucky to have survived after suffering smoke inhalation after a fire started inside his restaurant’s grease duct.

Firefighters quickly doused the fire a little before 9 a.m. on a Sunday at the Wynn Las Vegas Resort, and damage was confined to a small mechanical room. And the local fire chief credited the design of the duct system for containing the fire. The Wynn resort is about 10 years old, so it has a very modern design that helps with fire prevention so that a small fire cannot spread easily and become a large fire that threatens any more lives.

On the other hand, many older restaurants around the country are not designed in the same way. As a result, they have a much higher chance of being engulfed in a rapidly-spreading fire if their grease ducts and air ducts are not cleaned regularly. Restaurant managers have an obligation to make sure this cleaning happens enough so that there is only a small chance of a grease fire growing out of control.

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Published on: October 13, 2011

A Lesson Learned: Child Suffers Severe Burns in Starbucks Accident

By Larry Kramer

In late September, a 13-month-old girl received severe burns from an accident at a Starbucks Coffee shop in Stuart, FL.

According to the local sheriff’s office, witnesses saw the mother of Lourdes Marsh place the infant in a clip-on tabletop chair that had been manually attached to the table. The chair has no legs that touch the ground, and such a chair is meant for children who are about Lourdes’ age. But for some reason, the weight of the child placed into the chair caused the table to fall over, sending a large cup of very hot coffee and another large cup of hot tea onto Lourdes.

Lourdes received second-degree burns to her face and upper torso. Witnesses said that skin was steaming, red, and coming off her body. A fire/rescue spokesman said the burns covered 20 percent of her body. For a child that small, 20 percent is a dangerously large portion of the body. What’s more, blistering of the skin from burns is a dangerous situation–not only does it require immediate professional medical care, but it makes it possible that the child will have permanent scars. While the child was being taken by helicopter to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami as a precaution, she was alert, which was a positive sign. And after a few days, Lourdes was recovering at home, although the extent of any permanent scarring will not be know for some time.

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Published on: October 6, 2011

A Victim of Third Degree Burns Gets Support That Gives Her Hope–And Then She Gives Other Burn Victims Hope Too

By Larry Kramer

An article back in July in the midwestern newspaper The Columbia Missourian told the heartwarming story of one woman coming to the aid of another woman who was the victim of third degree burns. This story also has lessons for anyone who kmnows someone who suffers severe burns.

Larisa Rudelson never knew Albina Lewis until she went to visit her in the burn unit at University Hospital in Columbia, MO. Both women are originally from Russia and now live in Columbia, so Rudelson understands that being away from one’s home can be very lonely, especially in such a situation that Lewis found herself in.

On February 23, Lewis’ apartment caught fire, and she could not escape in time to avoid being badly injured by severe burns. Her arms, hands, ears and one of her legs were damaged, but fortunately her face did not receive burns as serious as those on her extremities. These burn injuries kept her in University Hospital for more than four months, and recently she was moved to the St. John’s Mercy Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis.

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Published on: October 4, 2011

Smoke Detectors Save Lives, but Too Many Homes Don’t Have Them

By Larry Kramer

In late September in the small town of Greenville, NC, a popular local restaurant owner died during a fire inside his house in the middle of the night. The man’s two dogs also died in the fire. Unfortunately, it does not seem that this incident had to end up this way–smoke detectors just might have saved the man’s life.

Derek Oliviero was just 27 years old–young enough to be able to run from the house and avoid severe burns if he had become aware of the fire. But he died of smoke inhalation when his home stared burning because a faulty electrical outlet in the kitchen malfunctioned while he was asleep. Firefighter found the man in the house around 3 a.m. but he was unresponsive. They tried to revive him, but their efforts failed.

Neighbors witnessed the incident. “It took a long time to get him out of the house. It was really scary,” said one of them.

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Published on: September 29, 2011

Burn Camps Provide Support for Burn Victims That Lasts a Lifetime

By Larry Kramer

Over this past summer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a celebration for guests at the Great Lakes Burn Camp showed the huge amount of camaraderie shared by victims of severe burns and their families. This was the 17th annual camp, which lasts six days and is set alongside a beautiful lake.

Mike Longenecker, camp director and one of about 90 staff members and counselors overseeing this year’s 52 campers, said that it is very moving to see the joy this burn camp gives so many kids. “You’ve got to remember that these are kids with burn (scars) and they’re at an age where peers put image and looks under a microscope,” he said. “Burn camp gives these kids a week where they can look any way they want without having to worry [about exposing their scars], and be themselves.” Even with a skin graft to repair damaged skin, burn victims rarely look the same as before they were burned, so the psychological effects of burns are almost as serious as the physical effects.

Longenecker said he’s missed wedding anniversaries and his wife’s birthdays to run the burn camp, but he adds that she knew when they married that the annual camp visit means so much to him.

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Published on: September 28, 2011

Abandoned Homes Pose Risks for Fires and Severe Burns

By Larry Kramer

One weekday last month in Portland, Oregon, a boarded-up, vacant home burned down in the southeast section of town. Firefighters responded to the home just before 4 p.m. on a Monday to find the house, located at the end of a road, in flames. To minimize the risk of injury, the firefighters went on the defensive and were able to take control of the flames within 10 minutes, said the fire & rescue battalion chief.

Neighbors told firefighters there had been an increase in transient activity at this home and at another abandoned home nearby. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the fire, but estimated that the house suffered about $10,000 in damage.

By itself, this incident is not much news to report on. But consider this: It’s just the latest in a string of fires in abandoned homes, not just in the Portland area but nationwide as well. For instance, there were four fires in abandoned homes in just two months in Flint, Michigan–all on the same block. And with the number of home foreclosures sure to be high for the foreseeable future, these types of fires are not going to lessen unless precautions are taken by those responsible for the house.

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Published on: September 22, 2011

A Burn Victim Now Helps Others Overcome Their Severe Burns

By Larry Kramer

There was a terrific article written for the Associated Press this past week about burn survivors and their path to living normally again. Here is part of that article:

Three dozen hotel housekeepers are focused on 62-year-old Sharon Everett. She’s helping lead sensitivity training at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati in advance of the Phoenix Society’s annual World Burn Congress held each year in late September. It will be hosted by Shriners Hospital for Children – Cincinnati, and is being held in this city for the first time.

She’s come to prepare the hotel staff for a conference that will draw hundreds of burn survivors from around the country, as well as family members, burn care professionals and firefighters. She also will tell her story.

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Published on: September 20, 2011

Man Suffers Third Degree Burns After Dust Explostion in Factory

By Larry Kramer

On September 13, 2011, a 46-year-old man working at an alloy plant in Ottawa, Canada, was rushed to a hospital with second degree burns and third degree burns over 30 percent of his body, after being caught in a dust explosion and fire.

Local firefighters evacuated a warehouse at Masterloy Products Co. following an explosion that occurred in the plant’s dust collection unit, near a door. A burnt-out forklift was located next to the door at the time of the first explosion, and could have been the source of a second explosion. While a hazardous materials unit was dispatched to the blaze, no toxins were found at the site, which is fortunate for other workers who possibly were exposed to smoke inhalation.

The injured worker suffered second degree burns on his torso and third degree burns on his legs and back, said a paramedic team spokeswoman. He was taken to the trauma unit at The Ottawa Hospital, where his condition was listed as serious. The man was scheduled to be transported to a burn unit shortly thereafter. The paramedic spokesman added that the man may have also suffered a blast injury, which could have caused internal injuries to the man’s organs.

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Published on: September 16, 2011

Fire Safety Education and Fundraising Helps Kids Who Suffered Severe Burns, and Prevents Future Burns

By Larry Kramer

In Mountain View, CA, a year of fund-raising led recently to the moment where a check was presented to the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF), during the annual Peninsula Firefighters Burn Relay.

“This is a major support for us, besides the work of the volunteers and their coming to the Champ Camp,” said Sarah Burton, director of programs for the foundation. Champ Camp is one of many residential burn camps nationwide that help kids ages five to 16 who have suffered severe burns. “It goes beyond the monetary donation,” she added. “The support of the Mountain View Fire Department through money and time has been phenomenal.”

Members of MVFD’s Engine 2 and the MV Fire Associates gathered on August 18 to present checks totaling $13,600 to the AARBF. According to a department spokesperson, the funds are raised from the annual MVFD pancake breakfast and through individual donations.

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Published on: September 13, 2011

Third Degree Burns and Dehydration

By Larry Kramer

The two most important problems encountered clinically with burned patients are infection and dehydration. When a person is burned and depending on the severity of burn, the blood vessels including the capillaries may be affected. Combined with the release of chemical substances into the blood, this will lead to increased capillary permeability to fluids, leading to the leaking of fluids from the blood vessels into the tissues. The higher the percentage of burned skin, the more severe the loss of fluid will be and the greater the dehydration will be.

In a third degree burn the entire thickness of skin (epidermis and dermis) is involved and nerve endings have been destroyed. The body’s barrier against water loss is no longer there. When the protective covering does not exist, fluid seeps from the burned area causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Unless fluids are replaced immediately, renal shut down and hypovolemic shock will occur. Skin is both a physical barrier, preventing water loss, and also a chemical barrier, preventing the growth of bacteria.

Fluid replacement is one of the important objectives in the initial treatment of burned patients. The amount of fluid needed and the method of fluid given depends on the surface area of the skin burned as well as other factors. There are many formulas used to calculate the amount of fluid needed for resuscitation; one of them is called the Parklund Formula in which after the amount of fluids is calculated, it is given through an IV route and the type of fluid is usually Ringer Lactate because it’s composition is simillar to the extracellular fluid.

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