Fireplace-related injuries in children with special emphasis on neurotrauma: a retrospective study from a paediatric tertiary care centre in the UK.

PURPOSE: Paediatric fireplace-associated trauma is an infrequent but potentially life-threatening accident. Though, fireplace is a part of most households in regions with long winters, fireplace-associated trauma is not studied extensively. This study examines the demography and clinical characteristics of children sustaining fireplace injuries, with special attention to neurosurgical injuries.

METHODS

This is a single-centre retrospective observational study carried out at a tertiary care paediatric centre, encompassing all paediatric admissions with fireplace-related accidents between January 2020 and December 2025. Patient demographics, mechanism, type and severity of injury, treatment modality, complications, hospital stay and outcome were systematically recorded and descriptively analysed.

RESULTS

Two hundred four paediatric patients were admitted with head injury during the study period, 15 (7.4%) of whom were following fireplace accidents. Boys comprised the majority (66.7%) of the cohort, with a mean age of 3 years. Structural collapse of the fireplace onto the child was the predominant mechanism (73%). Multisystem involvement was documented in 10 (66.7%) patients, with cranial injury being predominant (47%). Three patients sustained severe head injury. Surgical management was required in 10 patients, requiring a total of 21 surgeries. The median hospital stay was 2 days with mean intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy of 2.8 days. There were 2 mortalities (13.3%) with 2 patients (13.3%) requiring prolonged rehabilitation.

CONCLUSION

Although fireplace injuries constitute a small proportion of paediatric trauma admissions, they cause considerable morbidity and mortality due to multisystem involvement. Mandatory anchorage of freestanding fireplace structures and investment in caregiver-targeted safety education can reduce the incidence of these preventable accidents.