Stop the burning. Move them away from the source; smother flames; remove clothing and jewellery that is not stuck to the skin, before swelling makes it impossible. Clothing that is stuck stays where it is.
Cool the burn with cool running water for twenty minutes. Twenty, not two. It is still worth doing up to about three hours after the injury. Cool water — not ice, not iced water, which deepens the injury by restricting blood supply to skin that is already damaged.
Keep the rest of them warm while you do it. Cooling a large burn cools the whole person, and hypothermia is a real risk, particularly in children. A blanket over everything except the burn.
Cover it. Cling film laid on in strips — not wrapped around a limb, which constricts as it swells — or a clean, non-fluffy dressing. A clean plastic bag works for a hand or a foot.
Do not.
- Do not put butter, oil, toothpaste, egg, ointment or any home remedy on a burn. They trap heat, they contaminate the wound, and they have to be scraped off later.
- Do not burst blisters.
- Do not use adhesive dressings on the burn itself.
- Do not use ice.
Chemical burns. Protect yourself first; brush dry powder off before using water; then irrigate with copious running water for far longer than twenty minutes. Take the container or the name of the substance with you if it can be done safely.
Electrical burns. Do not touch the person until the supply is off. There are usually two wounds, entry and exit, and the visible damage is smaller than the real one. Everybody who has taken a shock across the body needs to be seen.
Get medical help for any burn to the face, hands, feet or genitals; any burn that goes right round a limb; any burn larger than the casualty's palm; any deep burn (white, brown, leathery, painless); any chemical or electrical burn; any burn to a child or an older person; and any burn with soot around the nose or mouth, a hoarse voice, or difficulty breathing — that is an airway that is about to close.
Source. World Health Organization, Burns fact sheet, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/burns ; European Resuscitation Council, Guidelines 2021, First Aid section, https://cprguidelines.eu/guidelines-2021
What this is not. Reading, not certification.