Holiday Fire Safety Hazards: How To Avoid Holiday Decoration Fires

The 2021 Christmas season is approaching, when residential home fires are extremely prevalent. While decorations and cooking are common formalities, the potential damage they can harness should not go unrecognized.

According to the fire administration, fire hazards can claim roughly over 400 lives and possibly injure more than 1650 people during this 2021 Christmas season. The U.S. fire departments respond to roughly 770 home structure fires as a result of holiday decorations each year. By including fire safety measures, you can look out for throughout the holidays to protect your home and workplace from a dangerous fire tragedy.

10 Christmas Fire Prevention Tips

1. If you purchase a real tree each Christmas, remember to water it daily or at least every other day. Allowing the tree to dry up and become brittle poses a fire hazard as it can catch fire easily.
2. Place Christmas trees at least 3 feet away from heat sources. Such as fireplaces, vents, radiators, and space heaters.
3. Refrain from overloading surge protectors and your home’s electrical circuits as too much electricity can spark a fire.
4. Be careful when cooking in the kitchen. Keep flammable items away from the oven and monitor your cooking in case anything goes wrong. Don’t ever leave the house with the oven on!
5. When lightening a fireplace, make sure the chimney is open and cleaned out before using. Do not leave the fire unattended when going to bed as an accident can occur. Keep pets and children away from the fire as well.
6. Turn off Christmas lights when going to bed. It will save you money, but also reduce the chance of a fire hazard.
7. When putting up outside holiday lights, inspect them for weathering. Exposed wires can spark a fire on your property or short circuit the outlet they are connected to.
8. Make sure candles are never left unattended. More than ⅓ of home fires are a result of a candle.
9. Invest in fire-resistant synthetic trees and ornaments to aid in preventing a fire.
10. Dispose of your real Christmas tree no more than 2 weeks after the holidays, or when it begins to get dry. Dry Christmas trees can pose a threat if exposed to high temperatures.

Fire damage cleanup after a fire is crucial and flammable items such as decorations, Christmas trees, clothing, curtains, lights, rugs, etc., should be thrown away as soon as possible because they could have been damaged by flames or smoke residue from a fire disaster. Fire safety is something we must keep in mind all the time and not just on major holidays such as this Christmas 2021 season. A fire can happen any day of the year, and it’s important to be prepared for this possibility with fire prevention tools that help you control fire dangers. If a fire occurs, your fire safety plan should include an emergency restoration team like United Water Restoration Group. We are here for you 24/7 at our emergency number (800) 430-5838.