It’s fun to decorate for the winter holidays, but holiday decorations can increase your risk of a home fire. As you deck the halls this season, be fire smart.
- Inspect holiday lights each year before you put them up. Throw away light strands with frayed or pinched wires.
- Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell, and feel like real candles.
- If you do use lit candles, make sure they are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be knocked down easily.
- Water your Christmas tree every day. A dry tree is dangerous because it can catch on fire easily - like this one!
Did you know?
- Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, the day before Thanksgiving, and Christmas Eve.
- More than 1/3 of home decoration fires are started by candles.
- December is the peak month for home candle fires.
- More than 1 in every 5 Christmas tree fires were caused by a heat source too close to the tree.
- Nearly half of holiday decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source.