Updated November 2025
Bonfire Night is always a good fun night with family and community. Fires and fireworks are dangerous activities so, Just in case it doesn’t go to plan, we thought it would be a good opportunity to remind you of how to treat minor burns.
Always start with …. Prevention
First and foremost, remember that the best form of treatment for any burn is not to get burned in the first place! So take sensible precautions, don’t return to fireworks that haven’t gone off, wear gloves with sparklers, and best of all, attend an event run by professionals, rather than doing it yourself. The statistics are pretty clear when it comes to the instances of people getting injured on bonfire night; doing it yourself is more hazardous! Check the Bonfire Safety page on Scottish Fire and Rescue’s website for more info how to have a good safe bonfire plus advice on the laws related to fires and fireworks.
Prevention Step 1 – have a first aid kit and water nearby!
Treating burns – flush with running water for 20 minutes
To treat a burn effectively, the over-riding principle is to flush with copious amounts of running water. A running tap is ideal and the burn should be held under cool running water for 20 minutes at the very least. Remember that a burn is cooking your flesh – much like cooking a steak, so if you remove the burn from the running water and it is still stinging, you are still cooking. So get it back in there!
Cool the burn – not the casualty.
It is however a mis-conception that burns need to be run under cold water – and this is often the reason that we don’t manage to keep them there for long enough as the cold becomes painfully numb. In fact, it is the running water that draws out the heat, so cool, or tepid water, is equally good, just not warm. It is more likely that someone will last longer in water that is tepid, than give up after too short a time due to the cold. “Cool the burn, not the casualty” is a good first aid maxim.
Do not burst blisters
Any burn that blisters should not be burst, and if the blister is bigger than a 50 pence piece, hospital is advised. Also, should the burn be split or open at all, it is worth getting it checked out and properly treated. Blisters are your bodies strategy to prevent infection whilst dealing with the burn.
Keep burns clean with a sheet of clingfilm
For more serious burns copious water is still key, as is cleanliness. If possible, lay a layer of clingfilm over the burn to keep it clean while continuing to run water over it. Don’t wrap clingfilm around the whole limb, just tear off a layer and lay it across the burn area. While transporting to hospital, cold wet cloths on top are essential to keep the injury cool and moist.
Keep burns cool and clean with Burn Gels
Whilst we advise not to have any lotions and potions in a first aid kit, Burn Gels (more commonly called Hydro Gels) are readily available to the public and are very useful ready-to-use products in case of minor burns. The most common type of Hydrogel dressings absorb wound fluids and bacteria. They are usually waterproof, breathable and skin-friendly. Their removal should not irritate the wound. By providing moisture to the wound, hydrogel dressings create a moist healing environment. Read more about Hydro gels here.
Be prepared – get first aid trained
Look after yourself and your family, friends and community by getting trained in First Aid. We run a series of public First aid courses throughout the year. Find out more about our full range of courses here.
Knowing what to do BEFORE something happens is essential and attending a first aid course will give you the knowledge to deal with many emergency incidents. Our courses are structured to give you confidence in dealing with an incident as well as the competence to do good quality first aid.
Everyone on our courses receives a FREE digital first aid manual. We have a range of manuals relevant to the courses we teach – Sports, Outdoor, First Aid at Work, Paediatric and Equestrian. They are a great resource that you can download onto your phone or other device and have all that first aid knowledge at your fingertips. You can view and buy the Manuals for less than £5 here.
