CPSC Alerts Consumers To Camping Hazards

The Commission estimates that about 2,660 persons are treated each year in hospital emergency rooms for injuries involving tents, sleeping bags, cots and mattresses. An additional 5,170 seek emergency room care for injuries associated with various portable cooking, lighting and heating gear used for camping.



Fires predictably are a major hazard. Serious and fatal burn injuries associated with tents and sleeping bags have resulted from ignition by candles, portable stoves, cigarettes, lanterns, matches and sparks blown from a nearby campfire.



Often the victims have been young campers who fell asleep with a candle burning and awoke surrounded by flames. But experienced adult campers also have been injured by an exploding stove or lantern.



Flammable children's articles are automatically banned under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and in November 1972, the Federal government declared three play tents banned hazardous substances and removed them from the market.



On April 15th, the Commission received a petition from the Legislature of Rockland County, New York, to prohibit the use of flammable materials in the manufacture of tents.



The Commission is now reviewing the problem of tent flammability and the various regulatory alternatives open to the agency.



Gasoline, butane, propane or kerosene fired cooking, heating and lighting equipment used for outdoor camping or in camping trailers should always be treated as potentially dangerous. These fuels can be ignited by a single spark or lighted cigarette, and escaping vapors or accidental spills pose extreme hazards of explosion.



Unvented, flameless fuel-burning stoves, heaters and lanterns can present additional hazards of carbon monoxide poisoning if there is not a constant supply of fresh air available.



Safety awareness could prevent many accidents, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission offers these tips for safer camping:

 

1.  Use flame retardant tents and sleeping bags if possible. Presume that tents and sleeping bags are flammable unless they are labeled as flame resistant. Keep tents and sleeping bags away from all flame sources.

2.  Never bring a stove, lantern or candles inside the tent. Tell youngsters afraid of the dark to keep a flashlight handy and not to use candles.

3.  Place stoves and campfires away from the tent. Extinguish all fires before going to sleep.

4.  Always check cooking, heating and lighting equipment to make sure it is in good repair. Read instructions carefully and obey any warning labels.

5.  Make sure that the stove, heater or lantern is stable and will not topple while it is being filled or during use.

6.  Check fuel connections for leaks: use a funnel to avoid spilling when refilling and a filter to keep out impurities; fill before starting to cook; never refill when the equipment is warm; never fill in a closed room or tent or in the presence of flames, sparks or a lighted cigarette; after filling wait a few minutes for the vapors to blow away before striking a match.

7.  Some stoves and heaters, especially catalytic stoves and heaters, emit a large burst of flame when they are first lit. Use extreme caution with such products.

8.  When using flameless catalytic products always keep a tent flap partially open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

9.  Use caution when storing or transporting fuel. Some stoves require that the reservoir be emptied to avoid leakage while carrying. Use safety cans to transport fuel.

Commission staff state that burn injuries are underreported to the Commission because burn victims are often taken to special burn units and by-pass emergency room admission.



Tents ranked 178 of 369 product categories on the Commission hazard index which takes frequency and severity of injuries into account and gives double weight to injuries involving children under ten years old.