Fireplace & Hearth Burns
Spot it
A glass-front gas fireplace with no barrier, or one a child can reach while it is on or still cooling; a wood fireplace or stove with no sturdy screen; a gas fireplace whose on-switch a toddler can reach; a fireplace in a rental, grandparent's home or restaurant that nobody has childproofed.
Fix it
Nationwide Children's Center for Injury Research and Policy: the glass on a gas fireplace can reach above 500–1,000°F and stays hot for an hour or two after it is turned off, so toddlers can be badly burned without touching a flame. All gas-burning fireplaces made after 2015 are required to be sold with a safety barrier; older units, and other people's homes, may not have one. Use a sturdy screen in front of any fireplace, a multi-panel gate or baby gates to block the area, and disable the controls on a gas unit until children are older. Supervise closely whenever it is on or was on in the past hour, and never leave a wood fire unattended. Check your fireplace's manual before attaching anything to it (our reading).
Safer swaps
What actually fixes this — the category to look for, not a brand we were paid to name.
Keep kids back while it is on and for an hour after; disable the gas controlHabit
Free; Nationwide Children's says glass stays hot an hour or two
Put a rug a few feet out as a 'stay on the rug' lineHabit
Free; Nationwide Children's suggestion
Freestanding hearth gate or sturdy fireplace screen
Blocks the glass and hearth; Nationwide Children's recommends a sturdy screen or multi-panel gate
Annual chimney inspection and cleaning (wood-burning)Service
Nationwide Children's: inspect and clean wood-burning fireplaces at least once a year
No shopping list for this hazard — the fix is a habit, not a purchase.