Tips for a Safe Holiday Season – Avoid Decorating Injuries & Christmas Tree Fires

It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but many – and I do mean thousands – of individuals sustain injuries during the Holiday season. The statistics are staggering. In an effort to make homes shiny and beautiful, houses are catching on fire and people are going by droves to the emergency room with decorating injuries.

Let’s talk important safety measures. Here are some decorating tips for the home:

Prevent ladder injuries – In 2012, 34 percent of the holiday decorating incidents involved falls. Read Ladder Safety 101 for tips.
Choose a tree wisely – Always check the freshness of a live Christmas tree. A fresh tree is green, its needles are hard to pull from branches, and the needles do not break when bent between your fingers. The bottom of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.
Keep an eye on candles – Candles should always be displayed on a stable, heat-resistant surface and extinguished before you leave the room, the house or before going to bed. Two out of every five home decorating fires are started by candles.
Check the lights – Use lights that have been tested for safety by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. Examine new and old lights for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections. Plug one cord in at a time and throw away any cords with exposed wires.
Maintain a safe distance – Decorations should be placed at least three feet away from the fireplace. And think twice before tossing discarded wrapping paper into the fire: Wrappings can ignite suddenly and create a flash fire.