When the holiday season arrives, decorating your home or office can help get everyone into the holiday spirit, but it can also increase fire risks. In fact, there are approximately 240 home fires involving Christmas trees and another 150 home fires involving holiday lights and other decorative lighting each year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Together, these fires result in about 21 deaths and $25.2 million worth of direct property damage. Review our holiday decorating safety tips to help you prevent accidents and injuries from getting in the way of your holiday festivities.
How to Hang Holiday Lights Safely
Always hang outside lights outdoors and inside lights indoors. Using these two types of lights interchangeably can create a fire hazard.- Before you hang your lights, be sure they are marked with the name of an independent testing lab like UL, which indicates that they have been tested for safety hazards.
- Keep the manufacturer’s instructions on hand and consult this manual for any installation and maintenance questions you may have.
- Inspect your lights, regardless of whether they are new or recycled from last year. Older lights may have cracks and exposed or loose wires from previous usage, whereas new lights could have sustained damage in transit. Dispose of all damaged lights. Some organizations will reward you for recycling old lights, like HolidayLEDs.com, which will send you a coupon for 25 percent off its LED Christmas lights in exchange for your old ones.
- Use built in connectors when stringing lights together, and do not join more than 200 midget lights or 50 larger lamps through one string or cord.
- Avoid overloading outlets by connecting no more than three sets of lights to one extension cord.
- When decorating with lights, place them in areas that do not cause any cords to be closed in doors or windows. Be sure there aren’t any cords running under rugs or carpeting, or stretching across a walkway, to prevent tripping hazards.
- If you blow a fuse, unplug the lights from the outlet and immediately replace the blown fuse. If the replacement fuse also blows, you may be dealing with a short circuit and in this case, you should throw away the defective light string or decoration. If you’ve just recently purchased the defective lights, return them for a refund.
- Before going to bed or leaving your home or office, always remember to unplug all indoor and outdoor lights and decorations.
Christmas Tree Safety Tips
- Do you decorate your home with a live tree? If so, you should cut a 1- or 2-inch diagonal section off the bottom of the trunk before placing it in your home, which will allow your tree to better absorb water.
- Regardless of whether your tree is live or artificial, place it at least three feet away from any heat sources, like fireplaces or heating vents.
- If you opt for a live tree, don’t cut it down too early. Keeping a fresh tree in your home for more than two weeks will cause it to dry out and become extremely flammable.
- Use a sturdy stand with widespread legs to hold your live tree and keep the stand filled with water to prevent the tree from drying out.
- As with many other safety concerns, keep young children and curious pets away from your tree, whether it’s live or artificial, to prevent it from being accidentally knocked over.
Decorating Safely with Candles
- If using candles to decorate your home for the holidays, place them in stable holders and out of the reach of children and pets to prevent them from knocking over and causing a fire.
- Before leaving a room or going to sleep, double check to ensure that you have extinguished all flames.
- Never place candles near flammable objects. To eliminate fire risks, opt for battery-operated candles instead of flame burning ones.
Keeping important holiday decorating safety tips in mind when adding holiday cheer to your home or office can help ensure that this special season remains, for many, the “most wonderful time of the year.” At Knapton, Reade & Woods, your safety is important to us. For additional safety tips and useful resources, please read our blog, or visit us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.
