Burn Injury Resource Center

In Knoxville, Tennessee last week, a fire in the middle of the night from a fireplace that was not properly monitored cause severe burns to a 23-year-old man. Apparently, the man tried to put out the spreading flames by stomping on the burning materials and by placing towels over the flames to smother them. As a result, the victim suffered second degree burns and third degree burns to his hands and feet. He was flown to the Vanderbilt Burn Center in Nashville for more advanced treatment. The victim might need a skin graft to fully heal his burn wounds.

A neighbor said that the man, who was alone in the house at the time of the fire, was using the fireplace to stay warm. "When fire crews got to the house, the victim was outside already," said the local fire chief. "He had apparently made an attempt to put the flames out before they got out of control. That's usually when you suffer burns to your hands and feet."

Firefighters attended to the victim, and started a defensive attack to keep the fire from spreading to houses next door. But the fire became so intense that a neighbor's home, including the roof and siding, was damaged by the heat. In addition to the victim's house being destroyed, there is now the possibility that the burn victim has legal liability for damages inflicted upon the adjacent house.

The victim told firefighters that he had started a fire in the fireplace in the late evening, before going to bed, and left the fire burning.

There are a few important lessons to learn from this incident:

First, it is very dangerous to leave a fire unattended! The same goes for candles and food that is cooking. You should NOT leave any room using fire or a flame for more than a few seconds.

Second, if a fire starts in your home, do NOT try to put it out yourself unless it is small AND only if you use a fire extinguisher. Getting close to a fire with your hands and feet is very dangerous, and even your clothes could catch fire, which can kill you before you can perform the "stop, drop and roll" procedure.

Third, remember that three out of every four people who die in a fire suffer smoke inhalation rather than severe burns. It takes only one or two breaths of fire smoke, which is contaminated with poisonous carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, to make a person unconscious, and thus unable to escape the fire.

If a fire starts in your home and no fire extinguisher is available, you should immediately yell "fire!" to all other people in the house so that they know they must evacuate, and you should then get yourself out of the house as quickly as possible. Once outside, you should call 911 or the fire department and give them the address of the house. Do NOT go back into the house under any circumstances!

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

In late January, ten people were treated and released from the hospital after suffering smoke inhalation from a fire that broke out inside the Joe Gibbs Racing complex in Huntersville, N.C.

Huntersville police said that a machine, thought to be a laser cutter, caught fire inside the building. The fire was contained to the machine shop inside the building, and the 10 people were treated by paramedics in the adjacent parking lot. These ten people were then cleared to go back inside the complex.

"A piece of equipment in the machine shop caught fire at our Joe Gibbs Racing headquarters in Huntersville, N.C. The fire department was called and the fire was quickly contained and extinguished," read a statement from Joe Gibbs Racing. "A few of our employees received treatment on site for issues related to smoke inhalation. All employees were able to return to work within the hour to continue preparations for the 2012 NASCAR season."

Witnesses observed smoke pouring from the complex, located just west of Interstate 77 on the outskirts of Charlotte, N.C. Joe Gibbs Racing is home for the race teams of several high-profile drivers, including drivers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

It's the second year in a row that a fire has caused damage to this facility. In February 2011, a fire caused significant damage to the room where engines are built and worked on. No one was injured in that incident.

Workplace fires are dangerous because, although most offices and shops have smoke detectors and fire alarms, many people are trying to escape down fire stairs and through fire exits, which can cause crowding and prevent a quick escape. The result could be second degree or third degree burns in addition to smoke inhalation, which can make a victim unconscious in just seconds, and unable to escape.

It is wise for you to know where the fire exits are in a building from the first minute you go inside that building. It will save you precious time in the event of a fire.

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

Near Chicago last month, three people--one of them a baby--were rescued from a basement fire. It is almost a miracle they survived after suffering smoke inhalation and falling unconscious before they could escape on their own.

The suburban Des Plaines Fire Department responded to a call about people trapped in a burning residence about 6:45 p.m. Firefighters were dispatched and arrived at the scene in about four minutes. They saw that most the flames and smoke were coming from the basement, so they moved into that area first and found three victims.

Two victims, a woman and a male baby, were unconscious. Firefighters removed them from the building and were able to resuscitate them before transferring them to an ambulance. The third victim, a woman, suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation.

The three victims were taken to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, and all indications were that they would survive the ordeal. "Our guys arrived quickly and they did an outstanding job of locating the victims, getting them out, and resuscitating them," said the Des Plains fire chief. "It could very well have been a much worse tragedy." If it took one or two more minutes for firefighters to respond, all three victims would have died from smoke inhalation or third degree burns.

After an investigation, it was determined that a gasoline can was accidentally dropped down the basement stairs and caused the fire when a water heater ignited fumes coming from the can. The victims were renting the basement apartment, so it is not yet clear if the owner of the house has legal liability for injuries the victims suffered. If there was negligence in leaving the gas can near the stairs that led down to the water heater, then the victims could sue the landlord to compensate them for their injuries.

The lesson to be learned from this story is that containers which hold gasoline, kerosene, paint thinner, or propane gas DO NOT belong in or near a house or apartment. Why? Because the fumes that come from even an empty container can catch fire from a nearby source of heat or flame--or even from a tiny spark of static electricity!

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injury suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

In Poughkeepsie, NY last week, a fire tore through a private home being rented by Marist College students near the campus. The fire killed killed two students and one former student. Four other people in the house escaped without serious injuries.

The off-campus house was being rented by six female Marist students. At about 1:30 a.m., the fire was initially reported to 911 by someone driving past the house. There were seven people in the house at that moment: four female residents and three male guests.

The local police chief said the occupants had gone to bed about an hour before the fire was called into authorities. "There was no issue that the occupants were aware of in the house when they went to bed," he said, basing his comments on interviews with the four survivors.

At least two of the occupants jumped through a window to safety after realizing that the house was engulfed in flames--which shows just how quickly this fire had spread. In fact, the first firefighters to respond to the emergency tried to get into the house, but were forced back by heat and flames.

One victim was found on the second floor of the house, one was downstairs and the third was under "considerable collapsed debris," the police chief said. The four survivors were taken to a hospital, where they were treated and released. They were treated for minor smoke inhalation and other minor injuries and were able to speak to police.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though the fire chief said the fire is believed to have started in the rear of the first floor. It is not yet know if the house had working smoke detectors.

There are lessons for all of us to learn from this tragedy.

First, everyone in a house should know where all the exits are--including windows--in the room where they will sleep. If a fire happens overnight, there are only seconds left to think and act. It is critical to know where the windows are in a room, because by the time people realize there is a fire, it might have spread too far through the house for occupants to safely escape through a door.

Second, if there is smoke in the air, you must immediately get down on the floor and move towards the door or window with your face as close to the floor as possible. During a fire, the cleanest, safest air to breathe is down at floor level. If you stand up, it takes only one or two breaths of smoky air (which is filled with poisonous gases such as hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide) to make you unconscious and unable to escape.

Third, occupants should make sure that there are working smoke detectors inside their house or apartment--it does not matter if the occupants own the place or rent it. While the owner of a house or apartment has the legal obligation to install smoke detectors, and would have legal liability if any occupant suffered third degree burns or smoke inhalation from a fire where there were no smoke detectors, the occupants should be proactive about fire safety too. So make sure there are smoke detectors near the kitchen and in the hallways near the bedrooms--and also make sure that each one has a working battery.

Smoke detectors save many lives each year--especially during overnight fires. So make it your job to have working smoke alarms inside the place where you live.

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injury suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

A family in Clinton, Iowa is teaming up with firefighters around the midwestern U.S. to turn a terrible tragedy into an educational program that will probably save many people from suffering deadly smoke inhalation or severe burns due to house fires.

Four members of the town's Molitor family--two young boys, their mother, and their grandmother--all died of smoke inhalation after a chair caught fire in their Clinton home two years ago. The most heartbreaking aspect is that this was a small fire, which started in a chair. Unfortunately, the burning chair generated a lot of smoke quickly, and the family members who stayed too long in the house (rather than evacuating immediately and calling 911 from outside) were overcome by smoke, fell unconscious, and died. It takes just one or two breaths of smoky air to make a person pass out. In fact, 70 percent of all fire deaths are from smoke inhalation, not burns.

Furthermore, "there was not a smoke detector in the house, and there wasn't even a heat detector," said one family member recently. "There was nothing to alert some of them until it was too late. That is the worst part about it--this tragedy could have been prevented."

But since the fire, the family and the Clinton Fire Department have found a way to use this great loss to help save others. "The best thing we could do was get that information out to the public so it doesn't happen to anyone else," says one local fire official. So the Clinton FD created the "smoke detector project" just days after the fire. They will provide a smoke detector to anyone who needs one, for free--they'll even install it.

In the last two years the Clinton FD has installed more than 2,500 smoke detectors, and their program is now being instituted across the state. Also, Iowa firefighters are working to create a national smoke detector project.

The best part: The local smoke detector project has already saved a number of lives, which makes the Molitor family's terrible loss a little easier to bear. "If one life was saved, that is more than enough for them to use our last name in publicizing the program," said one Molitor family member. "If a thousand lives can be saved, I'll say that my family members' lives were not lost in vain."

Iowa's Smoke Detector Project is organized by fire marshals from around the state. Other states around the country also have free smoke detector programs. For information on obtaining a free smoke detector, call your local fire department or type in the words "free smoke detector" plus the name of your state into www.Google.com.

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

The death of a Chicago woman who stepped off an elevator in her apartment building--and into a blazing inferno--highlights the need for fire sensors in all elevators.

Shantel McCoy, 32, who was returning to her 12th-floor apartment on Lake Shore Drive, died from third degree burns to her skin plus lung burns after the elevator doors opened and she was hit with 1,500-degree air heated from gas and fire fumes coming from another apartment, according to a Chicago Fire Department spokesman. The fire apparently began inside an apartment on that floor--but although the residents managed to escape the apartment, the front door did not close behind them. This allowed the fire to spread into the hallway and heat the air throughout the floor to deadly temperatures. Nine other residents were injured in the blaze as well.

But the elevator accident never should have happened, says one longtime elevator-industry consultant. Charles Buckman notes that the United States' engineering safety code requires elevators to have fire sensors on every floor and in the motor room. But in this building, Buckman speculates that "they must not have been fitted with sensors."

In fact, the 21-story building, among Chicago's older high-rises, was not required to meet safety codes that were established in 1975, according to the city's building department spokesman. The high-rise was built sometime in the 1950s.

Chicago's city council recently voted to put off until 2015 the deadline for all buildings to comply with a new ordinance requiring building-wide alarm systems that automatically trigger elevators to descend to the ground floor and shut down.

Buckman, who works for consulting firm Doherty and Buckman of New Bern, North Carolina, says that even older buildings should be equipped with fire sensors that automatically shut down all elevators. "The elevator should not have been available to this lady" once a fire started, he says. "The elevators should have closed their doors, returned to the first floor and shut down so that no one could use them" once the sensors detected fire.

Having testified in numerous personal injury cases involving faulty elevators, Buckman has a harsh judgment this time: "In this case, somebody committed murder," he alleges.

The building's management company did not respond to requests for comment.

If you or someone you know suffers an injury such as third degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injury suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

Here's a story that provides a very good lesson for all of us on the need to think about fire safety not just at home, but also when walking around in stores, malls, and other public places.

In early January in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, four people had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in a store. A clothing shop caught fire at about 8:15 p.m. on a Friday night, and firefighters were called away from a small fire in another neighborhood to fight the shop fire.

On arrival, fire crews found the fire was already extinguished. But even so, there were people in need of medical treatment, so paramedics were called in. Two ambulances and a rapid response vehicle were sent to treat three females who suffered smoke inhalation. They were taken to Peterborough City Hospital for further care.

Now, it is unlikely that many people think about where the nearest public exits or emergency exits are located when they enter a store, or a mall, or a sports arena, or another public place. But if you do not know where the exits are located, you have shortened the amount of time you have to escape and survive if a fire does break out.

So, always find the nearest public exit or emergency exit as you enter any building. Why? Because fire smoke spreads quickly, and is so poisonous with carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide that inhaling just one or two breaths of fire smoke can make a person unconscious and unable to escape. And even if an unconscious person is rescued by someone else, damage to the lungs, heart and brain from smoke inhalation can be permanent, forever changing a person's life.

If you or someone you know does suffer an injury such as third-degree burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

Winter is the time of year when home fires are more prevalent, and the Elgin, Illinois Fire Department offers excellent tips on how to stay safe as people try to stay warm in their homes.

"Winter storms can interrupt heating and electric service, and many times people attempt to heat their homes using alternative means, increasing the risk of fire," said Elgin Fire Chief John Fahy. "What's more, even cooking or trying to generate additional heat from traditional sources can also increase the risk of fire."

The United States Fire Administration reports that each winter, more than 108,000 residential building fires occur in the United States, resulting in 945 deaths, 3,825 injuries and about $1.7 billion in property loss.

Cooking is the leading cause of residential fires, followed by heating. And space heaters account for about one-third of home heating fires, plus about 80 percent of deaths from home heating fires, according to the USFA. And nearly 70 percent of these deaths are from smoke inhalation, and not from severe burns. Even a small kitchen fire that is contained to the stove top can produce enough smoke to kill occupants of the home--one or two breaths of poisonous smoke is all it takes!

Fahy recommends the following to keep you and your family safe this winter:

-If you are cooking anything on the stove, do NOT leave the kitchen while it cooks. Using the stove to fry, grill, or broil food creates an opportunity for something to catch fire. If you must leave the kitchen, turn off the stove!

-Give a space heater some space--keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from a space heater.

-Check electrical cords for cracks or exposed bits of wire, and replace those cracked or damaged electrical or extension cords. Do NOT try to repair them!

-Never use your oven or stove-top to heat your home. This is a fire hazard because they aren't designed to heat a home, and the carbon monoxide gas emitted from the burning gas could kill people or pets.

-Don't leave Christmas trees, wreaths, or cut flowers too long. Do NOT keep these items in the house longer than two weeks. And keep the tree stand or the flower vase filled with water. Dried-out trees, wreaths, and flowers burn very easily and quickly!

-If you use candles, place them in a sturdy candle-holder with a wide base, and which will not burn. Do NOT leave a room that has a burning candle in it--if you must leave the room, blow out the candle!

-If you smoke cigars, cigarettes or pipes, smoke outside the house and make sure all ashes and embers are extinguished by pouring a small amount of water on top of them. Many times, using your foot to put them out does NOT work!

The fire chief also made this very important point: "Most fires are preventable."

For more information about fire safety, go to the USFA website (see link above) and also visit the National Fire Protection Association.

If you or someone you know does suffer an injury such as severe burns or smoke inhalation, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a strong legal case.

A Connecticut house fire killed three children and two grandparents on Christmas morning, and it was possibly sparked by one careless act: Still-hot fireplace ashes were placed outside in the yard, but too close to the house.

The ashes from the family's Christmas Eve yule log were probably still smoldering when they were removed from the fireplace and dumped outside the 100-year-old wooden home. The overnight wind seems to have blown the embers against the wooden building, sparking the Christmas morning blaze.

The head of household, a 47-year-old woman, and male companion were the only ones to escape the furious fire, which gutted the home in just minutes. A 10-year-old girl and her seven-year-old twin sisters died in the inferno, as did the children's grandparents, who were visiting for the holidays. "My whole life is in there," the homeowner sobbed as emergency responders led her away from the burning home.

As details of the fire emerged this week, it was reported that the grandfather tried in vain to save one of his granddaughters, but was overcome by smoke inhalation. "He had the little girl with him [when we found his body]," said a fire chief. The victims were all found on the second and third floors of the home, where the rising smoke quickly accumulated.

Also, the family was doing the renovation work on the house, and the lumber and other construction materials around the house might have helped spread the flames very quickly. And it has not yet been determined whether the house had working smoke detectors.

There are a few lessons that we can all learn from this tragedy:

1. Every house or apartment should have smoke alarms so that people have enough time to escape from a burning building.

2. Third degree burns are not what kills most people in a fire. Instead, it only takes a few breaths of poisonous, smoke-filled air to be overcome by smoke inhalation, making a person unconscious and thus unable to escape the fire. And because smoke rises, the victims in this house fire were probably overcome by smoke very quickly because they were on the upper floors of the house, where the smoke would collect the fastest.

3. All occupants of a home or apartment should know the exits that are nearest to their bedrooms--including windows that they can escape through. This way, they will not waste time looking for an exit during a fire.

4. It is best to crawl on the floor to escape from a smoke-filled room, because smoke rises--remember, the safest air to breathe is down near the ground.

5. When doing renovation work to a house or apartment, be careful when storing flammable materials such as fuel for machinery or lumber. They should be placed away from the building so they cannot cause a fire or make a fire even more dangerous.

If you or someone you know does suffer a severe burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

On October 31 in the Chicago suburbs, a fire at a residential mental health facility early in the morning forced the evacuation of about 400 residents to a village community center, officials said.

A mattress fire, probably caused by cigarette smoking, broke out about 1 a.m. on the sixth floor of the Lydia Healthcare Center, a long-term care center in the south suburb of Robbins, Illinois. The building had to be closed because the fire sprinkler system was activated and the building then had to be cleaned. Most of the damage to the building was caused by smoke and water.

Three residents and one employee were taken to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, but none of the injuries were life-threatening. A representative of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago said they were providing blankets and food for the displaced residents, and that they would be able to go back to the group home within a day or two.

This incident should be a lesson not only for those who live in group homes or nursing homes, but also for the families of people who live in such facilities.

Before a person is placed in a nursing home or group home, the family should make sure that:

--Fire exits are not blocked or locked
--There are fire extinguishers in several spots on each floor
--The sprinkler system on each floor is working and is also inspected regularly
--The facility staff is trained in proper evacuation procedures for residents.

Each of these tips can help save residents from a fast-moving fire or smoke condition that could cause confusion among residents and and then trap them, exposing them to the possibility of severe burns and deadly smoke inhalation.

If you or someone you know does suffer a severe burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

When it comes to extinguishing a fire, there is nothing to say except this: DO NOT try to do it yourself--call the fire department and let them fight the fire when they arrive.

In the event of a fire or a smoke condition, the only concern you should have is getting yourself and others away from the situation so that nobody suffers severe burns or smoke inhalation that can result in death.

You need some proof of how easy it is to become injured or killed by small fires? We have plenty:

1. In Foxboro, Massachusetts recently, a 15-year-old boy was taken to an area hospital suffering from smoke inhalation after trying to put out a bathroom fire in his home, one of two blazes that kept town firefighters busy Sunday afternoon.

Fire broke out around 3:30 p.m. in the first-floor bathroom of a three-family home, according to a local fire captain, He said that the teenager, who was later taken to Norwood Hospital for treatment, tried to douse the flames himself, but was unable to extinguish them.

There was heavy smoke and soot damage to the first floor of the home, leaving a family of four looking for somewhere to stay for the night.

"They're displaced, at least for the night," said the fire captain, adding that the American Red Cross had been notified. Luckily, the other tenants of the three-story house were able to stay there.

The call for the bathroom fire came into the fire department shortly after firefighters returned from battling a garage fire in another part of town. That fire, said the fire captain, was started when a pile of ash from a fireplace was put outside in a careless manner.

"The wind must have picked up," the fire captain said, adding that the embers from the ash must have re-ignited and blew towards a nearby wooden-framed, two-story detached garage. Most of the damage, estimated at about $10,000, was to the outside of the garage, with some smoke getting inside. Fire crews were there for a whole hour, but reported no injuries.

2. In Brick, New Jersey last week, a firefighter and a police officer were treated for smoke inhalation after responding to the report of a fire at a home. Upon arrival, police discovered a female homeowner outside--and her husband inside trying to douse the flames with a garden hose!

The homeowner told police that the fire started in a sun room at the rear of the house, and that her husband was still inside the now-engulfed house. One policeman entered the home through the garage and found the male homeowner at an inner doorway to the kitchen area, attempting to fight the spreading flames with a garden hose. The officer led the homeowner out of the structure. Firefighters then doused the flames that engulfed the not just the sun room but also kitchen area.

Both homeowners were treated for breathing difficulties at the scene by an EMS crew. The policemen and a firefighter were taken to Ocean Medical Center where they were treated smoke inhalation.

3. In Mankato, Minnesota, an autopsy found that a former county commissioner died two weeks ago of smoke inhalation while trying to contain a grass fire at his farm. The medical examiner found that the 77-year-old succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning as he used a tractor in an apparent attempt to dig a ditch to stop the fire from spreading. The fire was reported by a neighbor, and when authorities arrived, the man's body was found slumped on his tractor.

4. In northern Indiana last week, an 87-year-old man died after he was burned trying to burn a pile of leaves near his home with gasoline. The man added gasoline to a pile of leaves but the fire got out of control, leaving him with burns to more than 90 percent of his body. He was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center a few hours later.

If these four stories--all of which happened in the past few weeks--don't convince you to simply get away in the event of a fire or smoke condition and then call the experts for help, you are making the wrong decision.

On the other hand, if you or someone you know does suffer a severe burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

Two stories from Missouri in the past two weeks demonstrate just how much people still have to learn about safety on the job site. Carelessness almost resulted in people getting killed in these incidents.

First, in St. Louis, a construction worker was critically injured while working at a building that's undergoing renovation--due to his own carelessness. A captain with the St. Louis Fire Department said that shortly after 9 a.m. on a Friday, a worker apparently used a blow torch to try and open a barrel marked "flammable". Early reports were that the man suffered burns on more than 90 percent of his body. Such severe injures make it unlikely that the man will survive.

And in Olympian Village, Missouri, a few days later, a series of propane explosions rocked a busy part of town and terrified residents, though it appears that nobody was seriously inured--which is a miracle, given the size of the explosions. "There was a huge fireball. My guess is that it went about 300 feet into the air," said one witness. "We heard the rumble from the first explosion, and then we felt the ground shake."

The explosions happened at the intersection of two main roads, at a business called R&R Propane. A delivery truck, parked unattended at a pump at a nearby BP gas station, rolled away and hit R&R's propane-transfer station, puncturing the main tank and causing the first explosion. Witnesses reported at least five more explosions after that.

Fortunately, "I think there was safety equipment on the propane tanks themselves that helped to keep the situation from getting worse," said a local police sergeant. He added that no homes were evacuated, but some major roads had to be closed off.

Another witness said that the scene was unforgettable. "It looked like a miniature sun went up. It was really big."

Even with safety training, some employees make errors in judgment that can result in second degree burns, third degree burns, smoke inhalation, or other injuries not just to themselves, but to people around them. This is fertile ground for a lawsuit on behalf of anyone who is injured because of the employee's mistake.

If you or someone you know suffers a burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, New York so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

In Fort Peck, Montana in late October, a fire destroyed a historic landmark restaurant in eastern Montana and the owner was hospitalized after suffering smoke inhalation.

Fort Peck's Gateway Inn Bar and Supper Club, built in 1933, caught fire at about 11:30 a.m. on a Saturday, just as the lunch crowd was coming in. An assistant fire chief said that several customers were in the building at the time, but were able to escape.

A local sheriff also said that the restaurant owner made a near-fatal mistake by running back into the building to get some keys--that's when he suffered smoke inhalation. Although he was listed in good condition just one day after the fire, the owner's actions were very risky.

There are two lessons you should take from this story. First, anytime you go to a restaurant--or into any public building--you should locate all the exits you could possibly use in case of fire. At a restaurant in particular, a fire in the kitchen is not such a rare occurrence, and can spread very quickly because of grease and other flammable items located in a restaurant kitchen. The speed of such a fire might mean you will not have time to look for an exit once you realize there is an emergency, and you could suffer severe burns or smoke inhalation even before you reach a nearby door or window.

Second, once you escape from a building that has fire and smoke inside, NEVER go back inside to retrieve items. A burning building has become a death trap, and you can easily be overcome by smoke in just a few seconds. And once you become disoriented or unconscious from smoke inhalation, your odds of survival go down to almost zero because of the hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and other poison gases in the smoke--even if you get out of the building.

If you or someone you know suffers a burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, NY so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

It seems that winter has come early to the Northeast, and surely there are many people in that region who have already started using firewood and other sources of fuel to heat their homes.

However, it is very important to think and take precautions before using a fireplace or other heating unit, because it is very easy to have an accident that causes a small fire to grow out of control, and possibly cause severe burns or swift, deadly smoke inhalation because the fire is in an enclosed space--a den or some other room.

Here is just one recent example of a person being careless and causing a life-threatening situation: In mid-September in Brooklyn Park, Maryland, fire investigators determined that a man who was burned a few days before in the basement of his Brooklyn Park home had poured gasoline on wet wood inside his fireplace.

The 41-year-old man was attempting to light his fireplace, but the wood was too wet to ignite, said a local fire spokesman. But as the man poured gasoline on the wood to get it to burn, the gas erupted in a large flash (which is not unusual for gasoline) and engulfed and burned the man. He was taken to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center with both second degree burns and third degree burns across his legs. Fortunately, there was no damage to the house or injuries to any other people.

You simply must think about safety before using a fireplace for the first time this season, or a kerosene heating unit, or other heating units that require you to add fuel. Otherwise, you could end up with severe burns or poisonous smoke inhalation and suffer permanent physical damage.

If you or someone you know suffers a burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, NY so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.

A few weeks ago in Kinston, NC, a utility worker was injured badly after 7,200 volts of electricity traveled through his body when he came in contact with an underground power wire. The worker, whose name was not released at press time, was working to fix a power outage when the incident happened. He was taken to the burn unit at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill because he suffered second degree and third degree burns. One city official said the worker has second degree burns to his face and chest, and third degree burns to his arms and legs. The employee is a lineman who's been with the city for 25 years. He was working on an underground primary line in a ditch when he was shocked.

That same week in Lake Katrine, NY, a faulty propane gas line caused a home fire that severely burned an elderly couple. The fire left the unidentified woman hospitalized in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center in New York City, with burns over 90 percent of her body. The man was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla with burns on about 40 percent of his body. Neighbors trying to help the couple also suffered burns that required medical treatment.

Officials investigating the fire say it is likely that there was a leak in the line between an outdoor propane tank and the stove inside the home, which caused an explosion.

These two incidents are prime examples of how common elements within a home can be dangerous, and even deadly. Electric and gas service are things we take for granted, but we must never forget to be careful when dealing with them. Exposed wires, loose or ungrounded plug outlets, and plug outlets near water faucets are prime areas where someone can be badly burned--or have their heart stopped-- by electric shock. In fact, more people die from burns received by electric shock, rather than from a heart stoppage.

And anyone who lives in a home that uses propane or natural gas should always be aware of the smell the gas creates--if you can smell it even though it is not being used for cooking or heating at that moment, then you have detected a gas leak, which can cause an explosion from the smallest spark! So if you do smell gas, leave the house right away and call the local fire department to come and inspect the house.

If you or someone you know suffers a burn injury or a smoke inhalation injury, you should call Kramer & Pollack LLP in Mineola, NY so that the personal injury attorneys in that firm can determine whether another party has legal liability for injuries suffered, and if the injured party has a solid legal case.