While everyone’s busy celebrating the season with festive decorations and holiday cheer, safety should continue to be a concern. No one wants to worry about a trip to the emergency room or burning down your house this time of year…or any time of year for that matter. Fortunately, the Margate Fire Department put out these friendly holiday fire safety tips to keep us all safe and sound.
Holiday Fire Safety Tips
Your Christmas Tree
Make sure you check the water tray underneath your tree daily to ensure it stays full of water. Cut trees dry out pretty quickly. This creates a serious fire hazard. The needles of a tree need to remain soft and pliant, not dry and brittle. Place your tree out of the way of any exits.
Keep your tree at least three feet from your fireplace, heater, candles, and heat vents. Make sure to use LED lights on your tree. They do not heat up like other lights do. For added safety, unplug your Christmas tree lights before you go to bed and when you leave your home. Never, ever use lit candles to decorate your tree.
Other Decorations
Only use decorations that use flame-retardant/resistant materials. Use indoor-rate lights inside and outdoor-rated lights outside. (Check the box to determine which is which.) Do not overwhelm your electrical system by plugging too many decorations into a single outlet. (That includes extension cords.) Instead of using nails to hang your lights, consider using Command strips or clips. They provide easy set-up/tear-down without the risk of damage to your home or light strands. Make sure to place lit candles in well-ventilated areas and far away from your tree or other decorations.
Extra Heat Sources
Yes. We experience extremely chilly winters here on the Eastern seaboard. Sometimes, we rely on electric blankets and space heaters to keep us warm. While space heaters provide much-welcome warmth, they also create a potential fire hazard when not used properly. Keep them at least three feet away from any combustible materials (like bedding, furniture, blankets, and your Christmas tree). Only use them when you are present in the room. Never leave them on when you go to sleep or leave the house. Also, if you use your fireplace, make sure to extinguish the fire and its embers before leaving the room for any reason. That includes closing the glass front if applicable to prevent any embers from jumping out past the surround.
Sherri Lilienfeld, Apex Prime Realty, Your Source for Jersey Shore Real Estate