‘Tis the season for family gatherings, decorations, and gifts. Unfortunately, though, it’s also the season of common household fires. The holidays bring a number of fire hazards with them, which can put your house in jeopardy if you’re not careful.
Here are a few common holiday fire hazards to watch out for:
Christmas Trees
Trees, though festive, pose all sorts of holiday fire hazards. Keep your tree at least three feet from any heat source, such as furnaces, fireplaces, etc. Don’t overload it with decorations, and unplug the lights when no one is at home and each night before you go to bed. If you get an artificial tree, look for something that is fire retardant. If you prefer a real one, get rid of it as soon as the needles start to dry out, as dry needles burn more easily.
Outlets
Maybe you want to outdo the neighbors with your Christmas light display. That’s all well and good, but be careful when plugging them in. If you overload the outlet, it can cause a short, leading to an electrical fire. Look at each box of lights to find the number of amps on the string, and don’t plug more than 15 amps into any one outlet.
Candles
Candles are a staple of many different holidays. They’re also are a huge fire hazard. Use LED candles instead of real flames to light your candles when possible. When choosing wax candles, keep the flames at least one foot away from any flammable materials, and place a dish or platter underneath the candles, to guard against accidents.
Cooking Mishaps
During the holidays, you may have half a dozen different dishes to make simultaneously, plus making sure guests are taken care of. In the chaos, the stove can go unattended, greatly increasing the risk of fire. Don’t spread yourself too thin, don’t leave the kitchen while the stove is on, and keep towels, utensils, and other items not actively being cooked, well away from the stove, to avoid mishaps
This important reminder regarding Holiday fire hazards brought to you by your heating and air pros at Jackson & Sons. We’ve served the Eastern North Carolina area’s HVAC needs since 1974.
Jackson & Sons, Inc.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, Pitt and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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