The holidays are a time for relaxing with family and friends. Make sure your home is safe this holiday season by keeping an eye out for common hazards.
Holiday Lighting
Be sure to take caution when it comes to decorative lighting. Carefully inspect cords, bulbs and connections for all your lighting. If anything is damaged, repair or replace it immediately.
Extension cords are the source of many fires, so be sure they aren’t damaged. Plugging multiple extension cords into each other increases the risk of a fire starting.
Don’t overload an outlet with too many plugs. This can cause an electrical overload and cause a fire. Outlet fires cause nearly $1.5 billion in damage annually. Stay safe by using separate outlets to evenly distribute the lighting throughout the house.
Christmas Trees
Choose a fresh tree that has been recently cut. Fresh trees are more resistant to ignition. Continue watering the tree daily to prevent it from drying out.
Make sure any lighting you use on the tree is designed for indoor use. Again, be sure the lighting isn’t damaged in any way.
Place the tree at least three feet away from any heat source. This includes fireplaces, candles and heating vents.
General Maintenance
Test your smoke alarms monthly and be sure to replace the batteries immediately if they are unresponsive. Make sure to have a smoke alarm in every sleeping area and on every level of your house.
Clean any clutter around the house. Don’t store combustible materials near outlets, heating vents or furnaces.
Replace heating and cooling filters as needed and be sure to have yearly cleaning and maintenance done on your heating and cooling systems.