Tis the Season – To Avoid Fire Hazards the Holiday Season!
Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas, even in sunny southern California, as people are bringing home Christmas trees and putting up their lights. Excitement seems to linger in the air as the feeling of festivity spreads to all. While this feeling of joviality increases upon the approach of the holidays, be sure to be on your guard against the hazards that come with the holiday season. Christmas lights, candles, and Christmas trees (whether evergreen or plastic) can be potentially dangerous this time of year. In order to help you avoid tragedy this joyous season, here are some holiday tips:
Candles
I love lighting candles! Especially during holiday celebrations, gathered with friends and family. Sadly, lighting candles within your home can tend to present hazards any time of year, but research shows Christmas Day to have the highest number of household fires caused by candles. To avoid a similar disaster this year, be sure to apply these guidelines:
- Upon lighting a candle, make sure it is within sight and that an adult is in the room.
- Keep all flames at least three feet away from your tree and other decorations.
- Be sure all are extinguished before going to sleep.
- Don’t allow children to have lit candles in their bedrooms.
- For using candles in center-pieces or around foliage, try to utilize battery-powered candles as often as possible.
Lights
You know its christmas when its time to pull the lights out and start the long process of untangling them. As much fun as this tradition is, it can quickly lead to grief if not handled properly. Here are some tips regarding lighting we found to be useful:
- Only use lights that have been tested for safety for both indoor and outdoor decorating purposes. New lights are best as they have thicker wiring and mandatory safety fuses to avoid overheating.
- Smaller bulbs are preferable as they produce less heat.
- When purchasing new lights, look for a red or green UL mark – green means the lights should only be used indoors while the red means it can withstand conditions outside or be used indoors as well.
- Check each set of lights (either recently purchased or long time possessions) for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires or loose connections. Any damaged lights should be thrown out.
Be sure to plug outdoor lights into Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs) to steer clear of shock.- Be careful when mounting lights to avoid inflicting damage on your lights. Also use insulated staples or hooks when mounting outside of your home, never nails or tacks.
- Never overload your outlets. Use surge protectors and no more than three standard sheets of lights per single extension cord and outlet.
- Don’t leave lights on while your household is sleeping. Lights shorting out and starting a fire is highly possible.
Trees
When I was younger I loved having a fresh tree in our house. I loved the way the fresh scent filled every room. Later on in life, I was introduced to the convenience of artificial trees, and I find myself torn between the fresh scent or downright ease in selecting my preference. Whatever your preference, exercise caution when decorating your tree of choice. Here are some quick tips:
- With live trees, be sure to check for freshness. This is generally indicated by the greenness of the tree, difficulty in pulling the needles off of the branches, and branches that don’t break when bent in between your fingers. The bottom of fresh trees is sticky with resin, and needles should not be lost easily when the tree is tapped on the ground.
- If you cut off an inch or two of the bottom of the trunk, it will allow your tree to take up water and stay fresh for longer. Keep the stand filled with water since the heat in the room will dry out the tree quickly.
- When purchasing artificial trees, look for “Fire Resistant” labels. Granted, this won’t keep the tree from ever catching on fire, but it is far more resistant to burning.
- Only use noncombustible or flame-resistant materials when trimming your tree, absolutely no lit candles in the branches. Refrain from using electric lights on a metallic artificial tree.
- Set up your tree in an ideal location (clear of doors and high traffic areas, as well as fireplaces, candles, radiators and overhead lights) to avoid further disaster.
That about wraps up our holiday safety tips. If you do happen to stumble across disaster this holiday season, be sure to contact your insurance company immediately and make temporary repairs to whatever mishap in order to avoid further damage. But of course, we at Alandale hope you have a very festive, very restful, and very safe holiday season!!!!
Do you have any holiday safety tips you have found to be helpful? Feel free to post them here! We would love to hear from you.
Thanks to Kemper Insurance for inspiring this blog. 
