(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – In honor of National Burn Awareness Week, Rep. Dennis Moore announced on Wednesday that the World Burn Foundation has officially endorsed the bipartisan Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, legislation he introduced with Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL) to require that all portable gasoline containers be made with child resistant closures.

“This bill would allow the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate gas cans with child-resistant packaging, as they already do other dangerous containers like household cleaners and medicine,” said Moore. “For less than $1 per gas can, we can help save children from severe burn injuries or death and put parents’ minds at ease. I thank the World Burn Foundation for supporting this important legislation and urge Congress to take action on this soon to prevent accidents that are occurring across the country.”

Although gas containers are sold with the express purpose of storing gasoline, they are not subject to the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, the law that requires child resistant packaging for medication and other dangerous household products. Since there is no gasoline in the containers when sold, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has no authority to require child resistant caps.

“This legislation will no doubt be of significant benefit in reducing the vulnerability of our youngest citizens to serious injury or death caused by fire,” said World Burn Foundation President & CEO Bernhard Heitz. “On behalf of burn survivors and their families around the world, the World Burn Foundation urges that the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act be supported by every member of the House and Senate, and enacted into law without delay.”

The Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act has also been endorsed by the National Fire Protection Association, the Congressional Fire Services Institute, Public Citizen, the Kansas State Fire Marshall, Safe Kids Metro KC, and Safe Kids Johnson County.

The problem first came to Moore’s attention after an incident in Leavenworth, Kansas, in which a four-year-old boy lost his life and his three-year-old brother was permanently scarred. The children opened and spilled the contents of a gas can, causing the gasoline vapors to be ignited by a hot water heater.

A study by the CPSC found, over an eleven-year period, 33 confirmed cases of injuries from a child interacting with a gas can. Nineteen of those cases resulted in the death of a child. The number of confirmed cases is likely far lower than the actual number of injuries. Using other data, the CPSC estimated that there may have been 1,270 emergency room treated injuries to young children involving gas cans in a single year.

“There is obviously a need for child resistant gas cans, just like there was a need to put other dangerous products in special containers,” Moore said. “Enacting this simple, non-partisan, common-sense measure would protect our children from tragic but avoidable accidents involving gasoline containers stored in our garages, basements and back porches.”

Celebrated the first full week in February, National Burn Awareness Week was begun in order to raise awareness for burn research, treatment and prevention. The focus of this event is on youth burn victims, but all ages are considered. The primary mission for the week is early warning and smoke detection, planning fire escape routes for you and your family and fire prevention techniques.