Heat Wave Danger: Outdoor Garden Hoses Can Cause Burns, Fire Department Warns

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue cautioned parents of the hazards of using garden hoses around children during the hot weather by posting a picture of a burned baby Monday.

The department posted a picture of 9-month-old Nicholas Woodger, who suffered second-degree burns over 30 percent of his body in Arizona in 2016 after his mother accidentally sprayed him with a garden hose while filling his baby pool.

Initially, the photo was shared by the infant’s mother to warn people about how hot the water in a garden hose can get during the summer.

The toddler’s skin was covered with blisters and his skin was peeling off, but he was able to recover.

“Here in Las Vegas, a garden hose exposed to direct sunlight during summer can heat the water inside the hose (not flowing) to 130-140 degrees which can cause burns especially to children & animals. Let the water flow a few minutes to cool before spraying on people or animals,” the department tweeted.

Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire Rescue Public Information Officer, said, “It’s a file photo, we use it every year to show just how serious a burn can occur to a toddler,” reported Fox8. “We got a ton of tweets back from people (saying) ‘I never thought about that,’ and that’s why we do it.”

“Sometimes the people don’t realize that for the length of the hose all that water is going to be hot water,” he said, warning people it takes only seconds to cause burns.

The tweet was sent out by the department when temperatures were expected to rise above 106 degrees in Las Vegas.

Dr. Kevin Foster, director of the Arizona Burn Center in Phoenix, had said in 2016 the water in a garden hose can reach up to 190 degrees when exposed to sun.

“It doesn't reach boiling, but it does get almost there. It's about as hot as coffee coming out of the pot, a burn happens almost instantaneously at that temperature,” he told Today.

Foster added children were more vulnerable as their skin was thinner. Another reason parents needed to cautious was because children often played outside with hoses.

Burns that are smaller than the palm of the hand can be treated at home; anything deeper needs to get professional medical attention. Cold water can be used as immediate treatment to soothe the pain, Foster said.

He also recommended trying to avoid having hoses outside and even if people do have it, to drain the water off completely. He also suggested using a hose wheel so that the water is emptied every time.

Dominique Woodger, the toddler’s mother, said at the time she did not know the water was extremely hot until her son started crying.

“I thought he was crying, because he was mad, because he hates when he gets sprayed in the face,” she said. “I didn't think that it was burning him. It's not something you think about.”

“All of it was peeling. He had blisters all over the right side,” Dominique said.