Firefighters have urged health professionals and carers to stop using flammable skin creams nearly a year after an Earlsfield woman accidentally set herself ablaze and died.

The warning comes at the start of Carers’ Week (June 12-16) and following the deaths of fifteen Londoners believed to have died after a flammable skin cream was found to have spread flames across bedsheets or clothing.

London Fire Brigade specifically cited the case of Hilda Batten, 88, a wheelchair user with multiple sclerosis (MS), who regularly used a paraffin-based emollient cream.

Mrs Batten died in July 2016 the day after a fire at her home in Swaby Road – the second at her home caused by matches or cigarettes in six months.

From July 2016: 'Bubbly, intelligent' woman died after neighbour rescued her from kitchen fire in her Earlsfield home

Mark Williams, who had known Hilda for more than three decades, helped his friend’s carer extinguish the fire and had pulled her to safety, before she was taken to hospital.

He told the Wandsworth Guardian last year: “She was bubbly, intelligent. She had a good personality all round.”

Hilda’s niece, Val Hamilton, said: “No one ever warned us before about emollient creams. She had a cream applied to her daily. Knowing about the risks now is too little too late.

“They should put a warning on the packaging. People should be given guidelines about its usage.”

Wandsworth Times:
Mrs Batten's home in Swaby Road, Earlsfield

Many commonly used moisturising creams contain paraffin and petroleum bases and can be readily bought off the shelf from any supermarket or chemist.

The cream can seep into bedclothes, and if wearers drop a cigarette, sheets and night clothes can allow the flames to spread quickly across the body, the London Fire Brigade warned.

Even washing sheets and clothes at high temperatures does not always removed the residue, a brigade spokesperson added.

Dan Daly, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, said: “It’s a horrific reality but if you’re wearing creams with flammable ingredients and you accidently drop a cigarette or a match, you are literally setting yourself on fire. Dropping cigarettes or matches onto clothing is dangerous but when flammable creams are involved, this really increases the chance of a fire starting and becoming much more intense.”

He added: “I can’t stress how important it is to switch to non-flammable brand and carers should never allow users of these creams to smoke unsupervised, especially if they could become confused or fall asleep while smoking.”

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates medicines and medical devices in the UK, says all creams containing paraffin should carry a flammability warning.

Dr Sarah Branch, deputy director of MHRA’s vigilance and risk management of medicines division said: “Emollients are important skin treatments used by many patients. We are working with companies to make sure that important safety messages are included in the product information.”

To report any adverse events to the MHRA, visit http://www.yellowcard.gov.uk