As burns can be so devastating to a young person,particularly if they scar your children for life I decided to extend my research to do with Fire safety around the home and found even more obscure threats to my family's safety.

You should consider how you heat your home and what kind of risk this heating system poses. For example, if your home is heated with a completely self-contained, enclosed central heating system with no exposed source of direct heat, you have far less to be concerned about than you would if you were using a wood burning stove in the centre of the room to power the heating system.

Another very sensible step to take is to use a thermostat to control the temperature of the water that comes out of the faucets (taps) in the bathroom and kitchen. If the water cannot get hotter than (say) 110°F or 120°F (or ‘medium' heat if this is how your thermostat is calibrated), the water is never going to get hot enough to scald anyone.

On a more general level, you should consider installing appropriate fire prevention measures whilst also making sure that you have the necessary fire fighting ‘tools' available in the home as well.
For an example, every room in your home should have smoke detectors fitted, and if possible, installing a sprinkler system that will automatically douse a fire within moments of it starting would also be an extremely good idea.

Next, make sure that you have fire extinguishers (and possibly fire blankets) to hand. You should also ensure that you have read and fully understand the instructions for how to use the extinguishers well in advance of needing them too. In the panic that would naturally ensue in the event of a fire is no time to be learning how to use the extinguisher.

Another extremely useful step is to give a good deal of thought and consideration to how you would exit your property in the case of a fire developing. In other words, you need a personal fire escape plan that is tailored to the peculiarities and characteristics of your home that will enable you to get out in the shortest possible time.

This plan should also take into account as many possible variables or eventualities as you can think of as well. For example, it is all very well knowing that you can get out the door if a fire breaks out during the day, but what happens if you live in a two storey house in which you and your family sleep on the upper level? How are you going to get out if a fire breaks out downstairs in the middle of the night? These are all important points to consider.