Holiday Fire Safety Tips

PROTECTION PLUS ® Top Ten Hol­i­day Fire Safe­ty Tips

As a Secu­ri­ty and Life Safe­ty Com­pa­ny, we know that Fire Safe­ty is impor­tant 365 days a year. How­ev­er, in Decem­ber we do see an unfor­tu­nate spike in home fires. So what steps can you take to ensure your home and fam­i­ly reduces your risk of a fire? Check out our top 10 fire safe­ty tips below!

1. Wood burn­ing fire­places and wood stoves rep­re­sent an increased risk and require extra main­te­nance and cau­tion. Before light­ing your first fire of the sea­son you should check for any block­ages, such as bird’s nests etc. Chim­neys and flues should be cleaned and inspect­ed reg­u­lar­ly to pre­vent chim­ney fires and any smoke and gas­es from escap­ing into the house. Always use well-sea­soned wood, fires should not be left unat­tend­ed, and pro­tec­tive mea­sures to pre­vent young chil­dren from burns should be imple­ment­ed.

2. Portable heaters are often brought into ser­vice to tem­porar­i­ly warm up spe­cif­ic rooms or garages etc. Refrain from using exten­sion cords with heaters, and ensure the heaters are in good work­ing order, and clear of any­thing that could fall on them. If in doubt…throw it out. Nev­er use heaters designed for out­doors or a gas bar­be­cue to heat an indoor space. It’s not only a fire haz­ard but also a Car­bon Monox­ide poi­son­ing haz­ard.

3. The hol­i­day sea­son sees exten­sion cords pressed into ser­vice for all kinds of applications…often to use with Christ­mas lights etc. Always ensure the cords are CSA approved and in good con­di­tion, with no nicks or cuts. Nev­er over­bur­den exten­sion cords with mul­ti­ple devices plugged in, and nev­er run exten­sion cords under car­pets or any under any flam­ma­ble items.
4. It’s the time of year for dec­o­ra­tions! Many orig­i­nate from dol­lar stores or school craft ses­sions and are high­ly flam­ma­ble. Make sure they are well secured and away from any poten­tial igni­tion source.

5. In Decem­ber there are many hol­i­day cel­e­bra­tions, Kwan­zaa, Hanukkah, Christ­mas and more. Can­dles are a big part of many cel­e­bra­tions. Of course any­time there is an open flame your fire risk ris­es expo­nen­tial­ly. Extreme dili­gence is required any­time can­dles are used. They should be good qual­i­ty, and in secure hold­ers. They should also be placed well out of reach of chil­dren and pets, and should not be placed on fur­ni­ture that is not secured. If you are leav­ing the room, extin­guish the can­dles. Nev­er use real can­dles on Christ­mas trees.

6. The desire for an authen­tic Christ­mas often means the annu­al rit­u­al of using a real ever­green as a Christ­mas tree in your home. The old­er and dri­er a Christ­mas tree becomes the high­er the fire threat. If you must have a “real tree” rather than one of the much safer arti­fi­cial trees make sure you use extra cau­tion. Keep the tree well hydrat­ed with a water tray, make sure the tree is also secured to the wall or ceil­ing, don’t rely sole­ly on a tree stand to keep it upright. Don’t leave the Christ­mas lights on when you are not in the room. Be sure to locate the tree clear of any fire­places, heaters or igni­tion sources.

7. Hol­i­days also mean plen­ty of com­pa­ny and big din­ners. Many fires orig­i­nate in a home’s kitchen. When we are dis­tract­ed the risk is high­er. A key to safe­ty in the kitchen is ask­ing for help, so you have an extra set of eyes and ears. An unat­tend­ed pot or fry­ing pan left on a hot stove can quick­ly ignite. Check and dou­ble check that your stove and oven are OFF when you are out of the kitchen, and make sure you have a work­ing fire extin­guish­er close at hand.

8. Have a fire escape plan and prac­tice it twice a year with your fam­i­ly. Decide on a safe meet­ing place, like a neighbour’s house, cor­ner store, etc. This is where every­one should meet in the event of a fire. If a fire occurs in your home, GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL FOR HELP. Nev­er go back inside for any­thing or any­one.

9. Every home is filled with valu­ables, how­ev­er some items you should con­sid­er adding fire pro­tec­tion. Either invest in a fire rat­ed safe for your dif­fi­cult to replace doc­u­ments and heir­looms, or invest in a safe­ty deposit box with your bank.

10. Chil­dren are nat­u­ral­ly curi­ous, and with a home filled with new dec­o­ra­tions the temp­ta­tions are great. We know you are busy but make sure you don’t leave lighters and match­es out when you light can­dles. Don’t leave young chil­dren unat­tend­ed with lit can­dles. The best safe­ty tool is edu­ca­tion. Teach your kids about fire safe­ty and the dev­as­tat­ing effects a fire can have on a fam­i­ly.

It’s a very busy time of year for most of us, but safe­ty should nev­er take a back seat. Make sure your smoke detec­tors are ALL in good work­ing order, and that your alarm mon­i­tor­ing call list is up to date with your alarm com­pa­ny. A safe hol­i­day makes for a hap­py hol­i­day sea­son!