Causes of burn injuries and fatalities

The most frequent causes of severe burn injuries are scalds, flammable liquids and gases, and building fires. Most of these are preventable by careful attention to heat sources, and proper maintenance of machinery and heating devices.

Burn injuries at work

About a quarter of all serious burn injuries requiring hospital admission occur at work, and workplace burn injuries account for 5% of workplace deaths. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, estimates that 200 American workers and die and more than 5000 are injured every year in workplace fires and explosions. Workplace-related burns can result not only from fires, but from contact with hot objects and machinery. Electrical, radiation, and chemical burns are dangers in many workplaces, including construction sites and road-building, steel and specialty metals mills, scrap metal shops, roofing operations, laboratories, refineries, chemical plants, kitchens, and other workplaces. Burns most often affect respiratory functions (lungs, throat), eyes, and skin.

Thermal workplace burns are usually scalds from hot liquids such as boiling water or hot grease. Open flames, hot objects, and explosions are frequent causes. The burns are usually skin burns.

Chemical burns usually result in a more severe type of burn. Chemical burns can occur when skin or eyes come into contact with strong acids or alkaloids or other corrosive or caustic materials that eat away or “burn” skin and deeper tissue. These severe burns can result from industrial cleaners such as rust removers and cleaning agents such as highly basic drain cleaners, and from the wide range of chemicals used in laboratories and manufacturing sites.

Electric current traveling through the body meets resistance in the body’s tissues, resulting in heat burn injuries. Workplace safety laws require high voltage areas and dangerous machinery to be clearly marked.

Many workplace burn injuries are preventable. OSHA sets the following general fire prevention standards for workplaces:

• Provide proper fire exits and training of employees to prevent fire deaths and injuries in the workplace.
• If employers want employees to fight small fires, appropriate fire extinguishers must be available and employees must be trained to use them.
• If employees are to evacuate instead of fighting small fires, an employer must have a written emergency plan and train employees for evacuation.

The basic OSHA requirements for fire exits are:

• There must be at least 2 doors or other means of escape for fire emergencies; they may not be close to each other.
• Fire doors must not be locked or blocked from the inside when employees are in the building.
• Routes to the fire exits must be free of obstructions and properly marked with exit signs.

If an employer wants employees to fight small fires, the proper types of fire extinguishers must be available. Extinguishers must be approved for the types of fire hazards in the plant, and maintained and inspected regularly. Employees who will use fire extinguishers must be trained about the hazards of fighting fire, how to operate the fire extinguishers, and how to alert other employees to the fire emergency. If employees are to evacuate instead of fighting small fires, an employer must have a written emergency plan.

Emergency action plans:

• Designate evacuation routes and procedures to account for all evacuated employees;
• Assign responsibilities for procedures to shut down critical operations and perform rescue and medical duties;
• Establish a way to alert employees to the fire emergency; this may be voice communication, bells, whistles, or horns; and
• Identify persons who can provide more information.
• Employees must be trained so they know the evacuation signal and what to do in an emergency.

A sound fire prevention plan will minimize the number of times an evacuation is needed. Provisions of a fire prevention plan include:

• Housekeeping procedures for storage and clean-up of flammable materials and flammable waste;
• Procedures for controlling ignition sources such as smoking, welding, and burning;
• Procedures for maintenance and cleaning of heat-producing equipment, such as burners, ovens, stoves, and fryers; and
• Training of employees in the potential fire hazards and the control procedures in the fire prevention plan.
• Automatic fire suppression systems such as automatic sprinkler systems improve fire safety in the workplace.

Automatic systems detect the fire, sound an alarm, and put water or other suppression agent where heat and fire are located. Automatic systems must be properly maintained. If a system is taken out of service during work hours a fire watch must be substituted. Special requirements exist for automatic systems that use chemicals that present a serious health hazard. The use of automatic systems must be covered by the emergency action plan and fire prevention plan.

If you or a loved one has been burned in a workplace fire, and you believe the workplace was not compliant with OSHA standards, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries. You should contact an experienced burn injury attorney as soon as possible to learn about your rights.