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More than 2,000 children ages 5 and younger suffered burn injuries from gas fireplaces from 1999 through March 2009, according to research conducted by Carol Pollack-Nelson, Ph.D., an independent safety consultant.
The problem: the glass front on gas fireplaces gets blistering hot. Hot enough, according to Dr. Pollack-Nelson, to cause severe burns. Curiosity about fire leaves children particularly vulnerable.
Industry standards for gas fireplaces allow the temperature of the ceramic glass to reach as high as 1,328°F. Tempered and annealed glass is allowed to reach 500°F and 446°F, respectively.
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, and Consumer Federation of America submitted a letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission this week supporting a petition for a mandatory safety standard for gas fireplaces. The petition requests that CPSC "develop a mandatory standard for gas fireplaces that requires an integral protective barrier, guard or other device for any accessible surface (e.g., glass fronts) that, if contacted is hot enough to cause severe burns."
In addition, the groups urged the Commission to include in its standard the following elements:
• A performance requirement for this barrier/screen; the temperature of the barrier/screen should not exceed the temperature at which it could cause serious contact burns when used according to manufacturer instructions.
• The barrier/screen should be installed as part of the unit and not as a separately available piece that has to be purchased apart from the gas vented fireplace. Once the unit installation is completed by a professional, the fireplace barrier/screen should be in place.
We hope that manufacturers and the CPSC take action quickly to help reduce these horrific burn injuries.
—Don Mays
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