While the holiday season is often seen as a time for peace, joy, and love, it doesn’t mean we should let our guards down when it comes to potential hazards. Everything from Christmas trees to fireworks and even those memorable dinners can lead to unexpected issues. Keep yourself and your family safe this holiday season by exercising caution. If you require fire restoration services, then Complete Fire & Water can help!
Christmas Trees
One hazard that leads to fires far too often is Christmas trees. They are often the focal point of holiday decorations in millions of homes, but often they can lead to large fires. Real and artificial Christmas trees pose various risks, especially when you take all the wiring into consideration. So, this Christmas, when you’re decorating your tree, make sure to follow these safety precautions in order to avoid any issues.
While keeping the Christmas tree alight during the night may give your neighbors and passersby a pleasant glimpse into your winter wonderland, there’s really no need for those lights to stay on all throughout the night. To avoid overheating and potential fire hazards, invest in Christmas light timers or remote controls to easily turn off the lights when the time comes.
Similarly, be mindful about where you place your Christmas tree, as well as what you place near it. Perhaps you like lighting candles for Christmas dinner. While candles are able to bring warmth and comforting scents to your home, they can cause issues if not dealt with properly. Always remember to keep lit candles a good distance away from any potential hazards, especially the Christmas tree. And make sure to put out all your candles when the night comes to a close.
Electrical Items
During the holiday season, the electricity bill increases exponentially. A way to cut back on energy usage while keeping your home safe is by practicing caution when using outlets. Consider investing in surge protectors, instead of just using power strips. While they may look similar, surge protectors are designed to withstand power surges. If a power surge occurs to a power strip, it can result in damage and perhaps ruin your electronics.
If you can’t find a surge protector, make sure to not overload your power strips as this can set the groundwork for an electrical surge which, in turn, can result in a fire. It’s safer to use multiple power strips instead of overwhelming a single power strip. If you’d like to find the right surge protectors or power strips for your home, make sure to read product reviews to see if any other buyers have experienced issues or potential hazards.
Fireworks
Sparklers, Roman candles, firecrackers, and the countless other fireworks that light up the sky during the holiday season are, by their very nature, fire hazards. As such, always be extremely cautious when using fireworks. Only light fireworks outside at a safe location. Adult supervision is absolutely required whenever children and fireworks are involved. Don’t let a brief moment of fun end in an injury or unexpected fire. Similarly, make sure to store your fireworks in a safe location that can’t be easily accessible by children. If possible, only purchase enough fireworks for the invited guests and use them all up during the allotted time.
Cooking For The Family
Delicious dinners, breathtaking centerpieces, and scrumptious baked treats are huge parts of the holiday season. Without them, your family reunion may feel a bit hollow. Whether you’re the de facto chef every holiday, or this is the first time you’re baking an entire turkey, it’s always necessary to be as safe as possible. Various cooking methods, be it indoors or outdoors with a deep fryer, come with their unique hazards. As such, it’s important to never go beyond your skill level. Even then, don’t let your guard down or forget about what’s in the oven.
Things can go from bad to worse at the slightest change so stay vigilant. Also, whenever you go out to purchase the ingredients you need for your holiday dinner, consider purchasing a small kitchen fire extinguisher, just to be safe. If you already own an extinguisher, check the label to make sure it’s still usable and keep it in a safe place. Let your family and guests know about the fire extinguisher’s location, in case something occurs while you’re not around.
If there’s a fire in your oven, make sure to follow the appropriate steps to avoid it becoming a bigger issue. First, don’t panic and don’t open the oven door! Fire needs oxygen to survive so if you open the oven door, that small fire can grow tremendously. Instead, keep the oven door closed, turn off the heat, and arm yourself with your fire extinguisher. Also, don’t throw water on the fire. Most fires that occur within the oven are grease fires and, as such, throwing water on a grease fire simply causes it to spread more easily. So, stay away from water in this situation. If matters get worse, don’t hesitate to call 911 for emergency services. It’s best to be safe, especially when it comes to fires.
We’re Here to Help You Recover from Fire Damage
We hope this blog provided you with a bit of insight about how to have a safer, happier holiday season. Even if you practice absolute caution and stay safe this holiday season, freak accidents can still occur. If your home has recently experienced fire damage, then Complete Fire & Water is here to help. Give us a call to learn more about our fire restoration and smoke odor removal services, today!