The Holiday season is a fun and exciting and hectic time of year. The holidays also bring a variety of new things in and around the home that may cause some safety concerns. Here are a few tips to help ensure a happy and safe holiday for everyone.
- Holiday Lighting
- Keep candles away from all decorations and out of reach of children
- Inspect all strands of lights for damages before plugging in to the outlet.
- Don’t mount lights in a way that can damage the cord. To hold lights in place, string them through hooks or insulated staples–don’t use nails or tacks. Never pull or tug lights to remove them.
- Before using lights outdoors, make sure they are made for outdoor use.
- Make sure all the bulbs work and that there are no frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections.
- Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house. The lights could short out and start a fire.
- Decorations
- Use flame resistant materials to decorate with.
- Avoid using sharp or breakable ornaments on the tree.
- Place ornaments with small removable parts out of reach of children to avoid choking hazards.
- Avoid decorations that resemble candy or food, a child could eat them.
- Holiday Entertaining
- Unattended cooking is one of the leading causes of home fires, keep an eye on the stove while cooking for holiday visitors.
- Keep lighters and matches out of reach or even better out of sight of children.
- Don’t drink and drive and don’t allow your guests to either.
- Provide non-alcoholic beverages for guest that are driving.
- Trees
- When purchasing an artificial tree look for a label that says “fire-resistant”.
- When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from branches, and when bent between your fingers, needles do not break.
- Before putting your real tree up cut about two inches off the bottom, this exposes fresh wood and allows better water absorption.
- Remember to keep filling the tree stand with water as warm rooms can dry real trees out rapidly.
- When setting up your tree make sure it is at least 3 feet away from any heat source; fire place, candles, radiators or heat vents.
- Make sure the tree is not blocking an exit.
- You can also use thin wires to secure the tree to the ceiling or walls to prevent it from falling.
- Always turn off the Christmas tree lights before going to bed or leaving home.