Holiday fire safety

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of joy and happiness. . .unfortunately, for many families, that joy is marred when fire strikes their home. In this article I will attempt to share some of my knowledge of holiday fire safety and prevention.

Live Christmas trees -

The most important thing to remember if you have a live Christmas tree is to keep it thoroughly watered. A dried out tree will burn much faster than a fresh, well-watered tree. As a general rule, a tree stand should provide one (1) quart of water per inch of trunk diameter.

Keep a fresh tree at least three (3) feet from fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, heating vents and other sources of heat. Also, use caution not to place a live tree where it will block an exit.

Lighting -

Check for the Underwriter's Laboratory (UL) label on lights, electrical decorations, and extension cords. The presence of the UL label means that UL engineers have tested representative samples of the product for safety hazards such as possible fire hazards and electrical shock.

Make certain that lights, electrical decorations and extension cords intended for exterior use are indeed rated for outdoor use. Again look for the UL label lights and decorations intended for interior use only are marked with a green holographic UL mark. Lights and decorations that can be used either inside or outside are marked with a red holographic UL mark.

Carefully inspect electrical decorations new and old before plugging it into an electrical outlet. Decorations with cracked sockets, frayed, bare or loose wires poise a serious electrical shock hazard or start a fire. Damaged decorations should be discarded or replaced.

Check packaging to determine the maximum number of (light) strings that can be connected to each other. The general rule of thumb is: connect a maximum of three (3) midget (push-in bulbs) light strings, or, up to fifty (50) bulbs of light strings with screw-in bulbs.

When using extension cords make sure that extension cords aren't placed under furniture or carpeting which could cause unnecessary wear or fraying. Also, if they must be place in an area with heavy foot traffic, make sure to secure them with UL approved electrical tape to lessen the danger of falls.

Candles -

Keep candles away from combustibles such as decorations, wrapping paper, wreaths and boughs.
Use sturdy, non-combustible candle holders that can collect melting wax and won't tip over.

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