As Burn Awareness Week approaches from Feb. 5 to 11, Port Coquitlam Fire & Emergency Services is providing tips to help parents keep their children safe from scald burns.

Fires and burn injuries are the second-leading cause of accidental death in children one to four years old, and the leading cause of injury and death for children one to 18 years old.

Scalds from hot liquids are the most common causes of burn injuries to children, according to the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund, which sponsors Burn Awareness Week.

Children's skin burns four times more quickly and more deeply than adult's skin at the same temperature. Each year, an estimated 9,000 Canadian children visit emergency rooms for burns - almost half of which come from hot liquids such as spilled hot drinks and hot tap water.

A child's skin can burn in one second when exposed to 60 C liquids - the most common temperature for hot water heaters in Canada.

The department offers these tips for keeping children safe from scald burns:

. Teach children that hot things can burn. Install antiscald devices on tub faucets and shower heads.

. When using water taps, turn the cold water on first before adding hot water.

Reverse the order when turning water off.

. Test the water at the faucet. It should be less than 38 C.

. Before placing a child in the bath (or getting in the bath yourself), test the water by moving your hand, wrist and forearm through the water.

. Be very careful when drinking or handling hot liquids, especially around children. Place hot liquids and food in the centre of the table or at the back of the counter.

. Have a "kid-free zone" of at least three feet around the stove and areas where hot food and drink are prepared or carried.

. Never hold a child when cooking, drinking a hot liquid, or carrying hot foods or liquids.

. Never heat baby bottles in the microwave; heat them in warm water from the faucet.

. Prepackaged microwavable soups (especially noodle soups) are a frequent cause of scald burns because they easily tip over. Choose prepackaged soups with a wide base, or pour the soup into a regular bowl after heating.

Visit the fire safety section at www.portcoquitlam.ca/fire for more burn and fire prevention tips.

Elementary school students across B.C. are invited to participate in the Burn Awareness Week Poster Contest and win cash prizes for their school.

For more information, visit www.burnfund.org.