A girl aged three from Todiresti village of Ungheni district suffered burns all over the body and carbon monoxide poisoning in a fire. Left unsupervised by their parents, the girl and her five-year-old brother found matches in the home and started a fire. The girl was admitted to the intensive care section of the National Clinical Hospital “Emilian Cotaga” in Chisinau.

Contacted by IPN, the head of the Hospital’s Burns Section Gheorghe Vicol said the girl suffered serious burns on the head, face, hands, trunk and legs and is in a state of shock. Effort is being made to save the child.

Press officer of the Civil Protection and Emergencies Service Liliana Puscasu has told IPN that the two children found the matches left within their reach and lighted them. Things in the room started to burn. The fire was extinguished by a neighbor. The girl sustained serious burns, while her brother went out to seek help and was unhurt.

Liliana Puscasu urged not leaving the children unsupervised and hiding all the sources of fire and dangerous objects away from the children, especially of preschool age, who do not realize the dangers these pose.

The anti-fire rules must be obeyed, especially in the cold period of the year. At the beginning of this year, three sisters aged 4, 2 and 1 from Drasliceni village of Criuleni district died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a house fire. The girls were left home alone with the fire burning in the stove.

According to a study carried out as part of the REPEMOL (Regionalization of the Pediatric Emergency and Intensive Care Services in Moldova) Project within the campaign “A Danger-Free Home for Your Child!”, which analyzed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of persons looking after children younger than five, only 27.2% of the parents realize the risk of fires starting in their homes.