Holiday Christmas Safety

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Tree/Trimmings

Shake the tree and watch for falling needles, if crisp and fall out excessively choose another.

Keep your Christmas tree well watered and away from heating devices/ducts to prevent drying.

Keep all Christmas greenery out of the reach of children and pets. It may be poisonous.

Remove your tree after the holidays as soon as possible. A dry tree can be very dangerous.

Candles

Keep candles in proper containers.

Place candles where they will be a safe distance from combustibles.

Never place candles in windows!

Keep candles out of the reach of children and pets.

Christmas Lighting/Devices

Follow manufacturer’s instructions for installation and maintenance of lights.

Make sure that electrical cords are not overloaded.

If they feel warm to the touch, there is probably too much load on the cord.

Use only cords/lights for their specific purpose.

Use only lights that are listed by a testing laboratory like UL, FM.

Fireplaces and Woodstoves

DO NOT burn your Christmas wrapping paper in the fireplace or wood stove. as it will often float up and become stuck in the chimney or flue. When ignited, it produces extreme temperatures beyond what your chimney is designed and may extend to other portions of your home. When removing hot ash from your fireplace, remember to dispose of it at a proper location where the hot ashes will not ignite any surrounding combustibles. Ashes from your fireplace will often remain hot enough to start a fire for several days. Don’t spread around shrubbery until certain that all ashes are cooled.

Smoke Detectors

Make sure that you have sufficient smoke detectors in your home and test them to make sure they work.