A roaring fireplace can be a nice way to keep your home warm this time of year, but it can also be a dangerous hazard if you have young children around.
Many fireplaces have glass doors to help prevent a fall into the fire, but even those can reach temperatures of several hundred degrees in just a few minutes. That can be a concern if young children are just learning to walk because they often rely on surrounding objects for balance. Dr. Lee Faucher, a burn surgeon with UW Health, says kids can receive severe burns in just a second of touching a glass fireplace door. Those burns can often require skin grafts or surgery, and can lead to permanent scars.
Dr. Faucher says homes with young children should just avoid using fireplaces completely. However, if you must light the fire this winter, buying a protective screen can go along way towards keeping children away from danger.