Christmas Safety Tips from SERVPRO of Dale City/Lake Ridge

12/7/2022 (Permalink)

Christmas time is a time for lots of lights, Christmas Trees, Menoras, and lots of candles everywhere. We hope these tips will help keep you safe.

Just like Santa working around the clock for Christmas, accidents, overflows, emergencies also never takes a break during the holiday season. Shorter days, winter weather, travel, outdoor activities and holiday preparations bring a whole variety of potential safety hazards/accidents our way. Throw in long weekends or holidays in the middle of the week and it’s the perfect recipe for a safety slip-up. Unlike Grandma’s Christmas sugar cookies, that’s one recipe you do not want to ask for. Instead, let’s check out Santa’s recipe for safe holiday success!

1 dash of injury-free decorating
2 tablespoons of safe travels
3 cups of safe light assembling
4 ounces of carefully placing candles

Mix well and do not bake – instead keep an eye out for fire starters!!

Decorate Safely

Decorating is one of the best ways to get in a holiday mood, but emergency rooms see thousands of injuries involving holiday decorating every season.
When decorating follow these tips from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

• Keep potentially poisonous plants – mistletoe, holly berries, Jerusalem cherry and amaryllis – away from children
• If using an artificial tree, check that it is labeled “fire resistant”
• If using a live tree, cut off about 2 inches of the trunk to expose fresh wood for better water absorption, remember to water it and remove it from your home when it is dry
• Place your tree at least 3 feet away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources, making certain not to block doorways
• Avoid placing breakable ornaments or ones with small, detachable parts on lower tree branches where small children can reach them
• Only use indoor lights indoors and outdoor lights outdoors, and choose the right ladder for the task when hanging lights
• Replace light sets that have broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections to avoid fire
• Follow the package directions on the number of light sets that can be plugged into one socket
• Never nail, tack or stress wiring when hanging lights and keep plugs off the ground away from puddles and snow
• Turn off all lights and decorations when you go to bed or leave the house

Watch Out for Fire-Starters

Candles and Fireplaces
Use of candles and fireplaces, combined with an increase in the amount of combustible, seasonal decorations in many homes during the holidays, means more risk fire. The National Fire Protection Association or fire reports that one-third of home decoration fires are started by candles and that two of every five decoration fires happen because the decorations are placed too close to a heat source.

• Place candles where they cannot be knocked down or blown over and out of reach of children
• Keep matches and lighters up high and out of reach for children in a locked cabinet
• Use flameless, rather than lighted, candles near flammable objects
• Don’t burn trees, wreaths or wrapping paper in the fireplace
• Use a screen on the fireplace at all times when a fire is burning
• Never leave candles or fireplaces burning unattended or when you are asleep
• Check and clean the chimney and fireplace area at least once a year

We hope these safety tips are helpful to keep you safe.  As always, SERVPRO of Dale City/Lake Ridge is always HERE TO HELP 365 days a year.  

703-583-8484