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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2003
Release # 03-150
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CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Bruce Richardson, (301) 504-7908
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Clothing-Related Burn Injuries to Children are Focus of New Data
Collection Tool
New CPSC System is Cooperative Effort with American Burn Association,
Shriners Hospitals for Children and the National Association of State
Fire Marshals
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Safety experts have a new tool to get a more accurate
count of burns related to children's clothing thanks to a new data
collection system launched today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
Developed in cooperation with the American Burn Association and Shriners
Hospitals for Children, the new National Burn Center Reporting System
collects comprehensive burn reports on children under age 15 from the
approximately 115 burn centers nationwide that treat children, according
to CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton. Under the new system, burn centers will
report incidents involving the ignition, melting or smoldering of
clothing worn by children.
In a related, complementary effort, the National Association of State
Fire Marshals is working cooperatively with the commission to retrieve
and preserve children's clothing involved in burn injuries - an action
that greatly enhances the investigative process. Garments collected by
fire officials will be forwarded to the commission's Bethesda, Md.,
headquarters for inspection. At the suggestion of the NASFM, a
committee consisting of the National Volunteer Fire Council, National
Fire Protection Association, the International Association of Fire
Chiefs and NASFM was formed to develop a protocol for use by "first
responders" across the country.
"One of our top priorities is to keep families safe from fires,"
Stratton said. "We want sound science and solid data to be the basis for
decisions we make on regulatory strategies. The National Burn Center
Reporting System will give us a more complete picture of the most
serious clothing-related burns to children and help us prevent or reduce
burn incidents in the future."
"This new system should give researchers confidence that clothing-
related burns to children will be captured," Stratton said.
For each of the incidents reported, the burn center will provide the
commission preliminary information on the incident and patient
identification. A commission investigator will be assigned to the case
to conduct an in-depth investigation, interviewing the victim where
possible, as well as parents, fire officials and medical personnel as
necessary. All reports will be reviewed and logged into the commission's
epidemiological databases.
The commission has relied on injury reports supplied by a probability
sample of about 100 hospital emergency rooms nationwide to produce
national estimates for specific product categories including children's
clothing. The system, called the National Electronic Injury
Surveillance System, is the most comprehensive injury data collection
system in the world. The burn center reports will augment the injury
surveillance data by providing additional, more specific,
detail.
The National Burn Center Reporting System collects data exclusively from
burn centers that treat children, providing a more complete sample of
serious burn injuries. "This additional reporting tool supplements data
collected by our other systems and enhances our ability to measure the
number of clothing-related burn injuries to children," Stratton said.
"The American Burn Association is pleased with the serious commitment of
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a new, permanent
reporting system for burn incidents involving children," said David
Herndon, MD, past association president and current chief of staff of
Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston, Texas.
"Shriners Hospitals for Children handles hundreds of pediatric burn
injuries in the U.S. each year," said John D. VerMaas, chairman of the
board of trustees for Shriners Hospitals. "We're very excited about
working with the CPSC in its collection of data."
Donald Bliss, president of the National Association of State Fire
Marshals, said, "our primary focus is on preventing fires from occurring
in the first place. The current data pertaining to injuries are a
critical factor in determining how to effectively reduce the number of
clothing related fires. Our hope is that information gathered as a
result of the National Burn Center Reporting System will aid the
commission in its efforts. We're proud to be part of this program."
The data being collected will be available for all interested parties to
analyze through the commission's National Injury Information
Clearinghouse.
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