Thursday, December 27, 2012

Safety Tips for the Holidays

The holidays are a time of year when people get together and enjoy extra time with family and friends. While this can be one of the most joyous times of the year, we must also put safety first. Follow these tips to keep you and your family safe this holiday season.

Christmas Trees
Many families will participate in buying a natural Christmas tree for their home this year. Some things to keep in mind include always keeping the tree watered. When a tree does not get watered, it dies and dries out. If it were to catch on fire, it would be extremely dangerous.
Check out this link and view the short video on Christmas trees and how quickly a dry tree catches fire opposed to a watered tree: http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/holiday-seasonal/holiday.shtm
Other tips for trees include placing a tree in areas that are not close to heat, a fireplace or candles. After the holidays are over, the best way to dispose of your tree is to take it to a recycling center or have it picked up by a community service.
Holiday Lights and Decorations
Decorating can be jolly and fun, but safety is still a must when putting out your holiday décor. Make sure to inspect your holiday lights for possible frayed wires or broken lights. Replace broken lights and throw out lights that are not working properly. Make sure to not overload your electrical outlets either. Too many plugs into one outlet can be a serious safety hazard. Instead, buy extension cords and multi-outlet plugs.
Candle Care
Candles can be nice but they can also be dangerous if you don’t take the proper precautions when using them. Candles should be in stable holders and somewhere that they cannot be easily knocked over. Never leave a candle burning in the house when no one is home- an unattended candle can lead to a burning home so always blow your candles out. Better yet, just buy the battery-operated flameless candle. They look and feel the same but are much safer for your home.

The Center for Disease Control went above and beyond to help the community stay safe this holiday season. They created a nifty song called “12 Ways to Health Holiday” song. You can check it out here: http://www.cdc.gov/family/holiday/12ways.htm

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