Holiday Entertaining

• Test your smoke alarms and tell your guests about your home fire escape plan.

• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.

• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet

• Stay in the kitchen when cooking something on the stovetop.  Unattended cooking equipment is one of the leading causes of home cooking fires.

Holiday Decorating

• Never use lighted candles near trees, curtains, drapes, or near any potentially flammable items.  Battery-operated candles are more safe to use.

• Choose decorations that are flame retardant or flame resistant.

• When choosing lights, determine whether they are for indoor or outdoor use.

• When connecting strings of lights never connect more than three stings of incandescent lights.  Also, read all manufacturer’s instructions for number of LED strands that can be connected together.  More than three lights may not only blow out a fuse, but can also cause a fire.

• When displaying a fresh tree, keep the stand filled with water so the tree does not dry out quickly.  Dry trees can be a serious fire hazard.

• Stand your tree away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources.

• Keep combustibles at least three feet from heat sources.

• Do not overload electrical outlets.

• Protect cords from damage.  Cords should never be pinched by furniture, forced into doors or windows, placed under rugs or placed near heat sources; nonetheless, attached by nails or staples.

Every household should be prepared for a safe winter holiday season.  To assist you in protecting your family and property, please consider the safety tips above to reduce the chances of becoming a holiday fire casualty.