Floor furnace burns to children.

Three children with grid-like second-degree burns of their extremities from contact with floor furnace registers prompted an examination of this thermal hazard. Average temperature of the gratings was 294 degrees F (146 degrees C), with a range of 180 degrees to 375 degrees F (82.2 degrees to 191 degrees C). All of the furnaces tested were positioned at the entrance to bedrooms and had so little clearance that it was impossible to walk around them without contact with their surface. Infants and toddlers are at particular risk: 1 or 2 seconds of exposure would be expected to produce a serious burn. Suggestions for preventing burns from floor furnaces include turning them off when young children are at home; installing barrier gates to prevent children from coming in contact with the registers; and developing a surface coating or replacement grate with less hazardous thermal properties.