The Holidays are in full swing so we’re offering you some safety tips to make sure that your celebrations go smoothly. Over the next three weeks our blog will give you ideas to keep your holidays fun and joyous. Today our topic is Holiday Decorating Safety Tips, next week check out our blog on Holiday Crime Prevention, and on December 18 we’ll be talking about Food Safety Tips.
We would like to thank our friends at the National Safety Council, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Electrical Safety Foundation International for their valuable and timely tips on decorating your home for the holidays.
Inspect electrical decoration for damage before use. Cracked or damaged sockets, loose or bare wires, and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.
Never connect more than three strings of incandescent lights. More than three strands may trip the breaker or cause a fire.
Turn off all indoor and outdoor decoration before leaving home or going to sleep.
Do not overload electrical outlets. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are a common cause of holiday fires. Plug only one high-wattage appliance into each outlet at a time.
Sound the Alarm. Test your smoke alarms monthly to make sure they work, and be sure to install smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms on every level of your home -- especially near sleeping areas.
Use battery-operated candles. Candles start almost half of home decoration fires.
Keep combustibles at least three feet from heat sources. A heat source that was too close to the decoration was a factor in half of home fires that began with decorations.
Protect cords from damage. To avoid shock or fire hazards, cords should never by pinched by furniture, forced into small spaces such as doors or windows, placed under rugs, located near heat sources, or attached by nails or staples.
Water your natural tree daily. If you have an artificial tree, be sure that it is labeled fire resistant.
Make sure your tree has a stable platform. Use a tree stand with a wide, stable base. Make sure that your tree is secure in the tree stand.
We hope that these tips will provide you with the information you need to keep your families and friends safe over the holidays. When you have questions about insurance, we invite you to contact us for great advice. Contact us.
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