Safety Concerns
Due to the combination of heat, electricity, the abundance of flammable bedding material, and a sleeping occupant, the use of electric blankets is of concern to fire safety officials internationally. Old or damaged blankets are of concern. In the UK, it is estimated that 5,000 fires per year are caused by faulty electric blankets, of which 99% are believed to have been caused by blankets 10 years or older.
Electric blankets also present a burn risk to those who cannot feel pain or are unable to react to it. Individuals included in this group are small children, diabetics, and the elderly.
Read more about this topic: Electric Blanket
Famous quotes containing the words safety and/or concerns:
“If we can find a principle to guide us in the handling of the child between nine and eighteen months, we can see that we need to allow enough opportunity for handling and investigation of objects to further intellectual development and just enough restriction required for family harmony and for the safety of the child.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)
“Art and science coincide insofar as both aim to improve the lives of men and women. The latter normally concerns itself with profit, the former with pleasure. In the coming age, art will fashion our entertainment out of new means of productivity in ways that will simultaneously enhance our profit and maximize our pleasure.”
—Bertolt Brecht (18981956)