HOT
Chemical Burn: burning of the skin caused by acids or hydrogen containing materials. This usually comes into contact with skin as a result of a spill, or may be found in various sources of water due to pollution. As soon as you suspect contact or feel a burning reaction, remove the acid-saturated clothing and irrigate the area with water. Local treatment varies depending on causative agent (type of acid). Use a sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) solution for basic acids. Vinegar is the best wash for alkali burns. Phenol and cresol should be neutralized with ethyl alcohol or castor oil. Phosphorus burns should be immersed under water until all residual phosphorus is removed. Gasoline or kerosene may be used to remove mustard gas or lervisite. Treat with asepsis (sterilization), relief of shock. Control infection.
Electric Burn: injury from a charge of electric current passing through a grounded body. This may result in the victim being frozen to the wire. Yank the plug, pull the main switch, or otherwise get the electricity shut off. Do not grab the victim with the electricity on. If he is not frozen to the wire, the shocked person can and will get away from the hot wire. Stand on a dry area, or dry object, and push or pull the wire off the victim. Use a pole, stick, rope, or anything not metal. Do not touch the victim or wire with any part of your body. Never climb electric poles or towers. Do not touch machinery or objects fouled in power lines. Call for help. Keep unsuspecting persons from entering the area. Upon rescue, apply resuscitation if the victim is not breathing. Keep warm. When conscious, give him warm drinks. The victim should maintain a horizontal position until no further evidence of respiratory problem. Preventative action is to avoid hot wires.
Feet: the things that keep you walking if not abused with heat or friction from improper or poorly fitting shoes. The end result can be severe blisters leading to a near lack of mobility. Wear good heavy-duty hiking boots that are properly fitted. Protect your feet from friction with powder and two pair of socks. Nylon socks worn next to your feet will stop most of the friction. When you feel a hot spot, stop, and apply bandaid or tape. Another solution is to spray with a commercial skin toughener, powder with medicated powder, and tape all the areas subject to friction. Do not attempt to walk barefoot if your feet hurt, you will not get very far. Your progress with improper shoes must be very slow to avoid compounding blister problems. Do not break the blisters. Prick with a flame-sterilized point and drain. Roots of curled dock (Rumex crispus) can be smashed into a salve that will help to lubricate blisters and prevent infection. (See the About Wild Plants section for more information).
Fire: a destructive burning in the case of a home, building, forest, brush, grass, or other materials. Any of these fires may result in panic, property damage, asphyxiation, or cremation. The cause is heat, flames, smoke, or chemicals produced by combustion. If you are in a building, move quickly toward the nearest ground level exit free of smoke and fire. Beware of any door that has a hot doorknob. Never attempt to open such a door, seek an alternate route. Shout fire and collect other occupants as you go. The exit of burning rooms has priority. Crawl on the floor to avoid getting too much smoke or heat. It helps to cover your mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief. Shut all doors and windows as you move through the building. Sound an alarm from an alarm box or use a nearby (neighbor’s) telephone or C.B. radio. See the Burning House section for specific information on home fires.
In case of fire in a high-rise building, do not panic. And do not attempt to use elevators. Use stairways only if relatively free of smoke. lf trapped, find a room furthest from the flames and close the door sealing it at the bottom with a rug, coat, curtain, or other material. Open a window to call for help. Use a shirt, curtain, or torn sheet to make a flag to wave and attract attention. Do not think about climbing down the side until it is obvious that you have no other alternative. In most burning buildings, the closed sealed door will give the victim an extra 15 minutes - time enough for help to arrive.
If a fire is known to be small, one or two individuals may elect to remain behind to fight the fire. But do not attempt to do so if you smell burning chemicals or have other evidence of their existence; e.g. burning eyes or lungs or specific knowledge. Attempt to smother the fire with a rug, blanket, or coat. Cut off the gas or electricity if suspected as the source of fire. Apply water unless the fire is from burning fat or oil. Use flour to smother fire from same. Never try to run outside with a burning object. Soak the surrounding area with water to stop the spread of fire. Fight a fire as fast and hard as you can at the source of the flames. When the fire is too big to smother, soak a coat or blanket in water and beat it at the flames to flatten and kill the fire. Should the fire get out of control, you must leave on an immediate basis. If your clothing catches fire, find a coat, blanket, or rug to roll up inside of. Keep your head on the outside.
Forest, brush, and grass fires are a major threat during dry periods. Most are started by carelessness, arsonists, or lightning. ln addition to dry conditions, wind, high temperatures, and low relative humidity also act to increase the hazard. As soon as one of these fires starts, you only have a few minutes to beat it out from behind using a wet coat, blanket, or sack. If the fire spreads, you must also attack the flanks of the flames to narrow the fire. In the event that you have no hope of putting it out, go for help. It takes a lot of men, machines, and know-how to stop a wall of fire feeding on dry vegetation and speeded by the wind. Plan your escape route if tighting one of these fires. If trapped in front of a wall of fire, start your own fire and walk behind it. The wind will push the larger fire faster, and it will sweep around the area you have burned.
There are many unusual types of fires that require specialized firefighting skills. There are chemical fires, electric fires, gas fires, oil fires, spot fires caused by a larger fire, burning materials on water, crown fires that skip through the tops of trees, and duff fires to include burning peat or smoldering layers of vegetation. Seek professional help in fighting these fires
Heat: hotness caused by heat waves, high temperatures, exposure to the sun, high humidity, and the lack of cooling winds, or various combinations of these factors. Seek shade, wet your clothing to initiate evaporative cooling, circulate the air with a fan, and reduce your level of activity. You should also reduce your protein intake and increase your salt intake (unless on a salt-free diet), and acclimatize gradually. Cool off as soon as you feel faint, weak, or breathless. Run cold water over your wrists to cool off fast. Heat causes heavy sweating resulting in the loss of body water. Replace the lost water as soon as possible. lf no water is available, see the solutions suggested under the section on Thirst. Heat can cause overheating of the body. See two possible dangers and solutions listed hereafter.
Heatstroke: the result of remaining in the hot sun too long. This causes rapid pulse and hot, dry, and red skin. A fever may reach 106 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Breathing is slow and noisy. The victim has no perspiration and may be unconscious. Undress the victim and lay him down in a cool area with his head and shoulders raised. Prompt action must be taken to lower the victim’s body temperature. Give a sponge bath with lukewarm water or alcohol. Repeat the bath until the body temperature has lowered to near normal. Treat for shock. Call a doctor if one is available. Several days of rest may be needed for recovery. Prevention is to wear a hat and light colored clothing in the hot sun. Limit your periods of work, travel, or hard play in the direct sunlight. A good rule is only 30 minutes of exposure for every two hours of very hot sun. Drink extra water and double or triple the salt with your meals. More salt than this will usually do more harm than good.
Heat Exhaustion: a mild form of heat stroke or heat prostration. The body’s reaction to too much heat. Avoid periods of prolonged exposure to heat. Such exposures can happen outdoors or in an overheated room. The victim is pale with cold sweat on the forehead. The more sweat, the more serious the case. Breathing is slow with no fever. Exhaustion, headache, and nauseous feelings are other signs. The body feels clammy. Get the victim to lie down and rest in the shade with his feet elevated. Give sips of salt water with 1 teaspoon of salt to a hall pint of water. Recovery should take place in a few hours.
Lightning: a flash of thunderstorm electricity that visually shows the flow of a powerful electric current from negative to positive. lt may proceed from cloud to cloud, cloud to ground, or ground to cloud. When it strikes the ground, an electrical arc is formed between thunderclouds and objects or elevations on the ground that are higher than anything else around them. The arc does not occur until the electric potential becomes large enough to overcome the resistance of air between the negative and positive forces. A single stroke of lightning measures more than15,000,000 volts. As lightning travels, it heats the air causing it to expand violently creating a great air wave that results in thunder. If a person is struck directly, he is usually killed and may be found rigid in the position held when struck. Should a person be struck indirectly, severe burning will probably result. The treatment is the same as for electric burn.
Preventive action is the best resoonse to the threat of lightning. If indoors during a storm, do not touch plumbing fixtures, telephones, electric wiring, radio, or T.V. Avoid open windows and exterior doorways. When you are outside, you must avoid projecting yourself above the surrounding landscape. Get off and away from open water and all metal objects. Stay away from wire fences, telephone poles, and other lightning attractors. Do not handle any flammable materials in open containers. In a forest, seek shelter under a thick growth of the smallest trees. On an open prairie you will feel your hair stand on end before lightning strikes. When this happens, drop to your knees and bend forward putting your hands on your knees. Be alert for associated problems of heavy rain and floods which may occur in conjunction with a thunderstorm. lf you are in a car, stay there because the rubber tires will keep you from making contact with the ground and therefore safe from lightning.
Sunburn: discoloration, burning, and inflammation of the skin from direct exposure to the sun. Cover the body with light colored loose fitting clothes. Use a large hat or improvised turban to protect your head and neck. Keep your hands in the shade of your body. Better yet, get yourself in the shade. If you are in a desert with no shade, bury all but your head under one foot of sand. Cover your face with clothing. Move at night. Moisten burned skin with vinegar once every two hours, or use sunburn creams if available.
Volcano: an opening in the crust of the earth extending 20 to 40 miles below ground level to a reservoir of melted rock called magma. A volcano becomes active due to a buildup of sub-surface pressure. Hot gases, steam, water vapor, and magma are then expelled through the volcano conduit to the surface of the earth. As this material comes to the top, it cools and becomes lava, ash, lapilli (little stones) and large pieces of flying molten lava called spindle bombs. Lava flows can be effusive or eruptive. The volcanic mountain is a product of various eruptions and the central crater marks the top end of the conduit or earth opening. This frequently becomes choked by cooling magma and collapsed materials from the crater walls. The closing of the conduit creates a brief quiescent period or a dormant period for the volcano. Pressures may or may not begin to build again. If and when any volcano explodes inlo new activity, you can see smoke formed from a mixtue of fine rock dust and steam. These smokeclouds may also include carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide. Fluid lava moves quickly down the volcano slopes in a red-hot mass.
As it cools it turns sticky and dark and finally hardens to form pyroclastic rock and rock layers called ignimbrite sheets. By classification, there are active, intermittent, dormant, and extinct volcanoes. The first are constantly active and the last have not been active since the beginning of recorded history. These two types present little problem because they do not present the probability of unexpected dangers. In the case of intermittent and dormant volcanoes, be alert for any warning of an eruption. And be prepared for multiple eruptions. Typical warnings include, earthquake-like shocks and an increase of water temperature or salts in water springs normally found around a volcano. If you see great clouds of steam, you will know that an eruption has started. The lava which follows will have a temperature above 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit. When in the immediate area of the volcano you could be covered with hot ash or asphyxiated by toxic gases, if not burned by lava. Evacuate the area with all possible speed. Avoid low-lying areas where gases may collect. Wear goggles to protect your eyes. Cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth. Use a helmet or metal pan to protect your head from falling volcanic debris. If on an island, coast, or ocean, beware of tidal waves caused by the volcanic eruption. Always be alert to the danger of volcanoes when near the great mountain chains of the earth. Study the recorded cycle of previous eruptions before living or residing in the geographic area of any volcano. Be prepared for a quick get away at the time of the first warning of eruption.
