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4 Holiday Fire Safety Tips: What You Need to Know

Name: Exit Mold
Address: 1 Irwin Ct., Lynbrook, New York, 11563, United States
Telephone: (516) 512-7877

The holiday season is a busy one for many people! All of the shopping, planning, parties, decorating, and cooking can make for a bustling and sometimes chaotic time of year.

While it is certainly a great opportunity to spend more time with family and friends celebrating each holiday, it is unfortunately a common time of year for home disasters. The risk of fire goes up considerably during the colder months, especially around the holiday season.

Check out these holiday fire safety tips below so you can avoid starting a serious fire that would certainly derail your season!

Holiday Fire Safety Tip #1: Mind Your Candles

Candles are a common decoration during the colder months. They provide cozy ambiance and delicious smells throughout your living space, and they can add the perfect whimsical touch to the corner of any room.

However, even though candles are relatively small, they still produce some very real fire! Even a small flame can have a big impact on your home if you aren’t careful. To start, trim your wicks to prevent flare ups, and never leave your candles unattended.

Blow them out every single time you leave the room, even if you aren’t expecting to be gone for long. What starts as a quick trip downstairs can easily lead to distraction.

You should also be sure to keep your candles far away from pets and your children’s reach. Kids and pets are naturally curious, and if your candle gets tipped over, a serious fire could start in seconds. Keep your candles at least 12 inches away from anything flammable, and set them up on stable holders so they cannot be knocked down easily.

To take your candle safety to the next level, consider using flameless or battery-powered candles. You can achieve the same ambiance while also drastically reducing your fire risk.

Holiday Fire Safety Tip #2: Address Your Decorations

Decking the halls for each holiday during the fall and winter months is one of the best parts of this season! However, the risk of fire increases with each electrically dependent decoration in your home. Twinkly lights, blow-up figures, and anything that has a cord can easily cause trouble for your home.

Inspect each cord carefully to look for frayed edges or pinched wires. If you do discover a questionable cord, the best choice is to throw away the decoration or research a local donation center that recycles holiday lights.

Do not overload your outlets, and minimize your extension cord use. If you are having trouble plugging in all of your decorations, it might be time to choose which ones to display and store the rest. Daisy-chaining extension cords or plugging outlet extenders into too many of your outlets can lead to electrical malfunctions and fires.

Finally, take care to unplug your lights and decorations whenever you leave the house and before you go to bed. This will not only help you stay safer, but it will also help you save money on your electric bill during this time of year!

Holiday Fire Safety Tip #3: Set Your Tree Up For Success

If you celebrate the season by setting up a tree in your home, you need to take extra precautions to reduce your risk of starting a house fire. If you set up an artificial tree, check each bulb for signs of damage, and set it up at least three feet away from heat sources like fireplaces, radiators or space heaters.

If you cut down a real tree to bring inside and decorate, designate someone in your home to water the tree every single day. Pine trees can dry out very quickly once brought inside, so be sure the tree stand is always full of water. In fact, dry trees contribute to over 200 fires every single year.

Just like any other lighted holiday decoration, your trees should be unplugged every night before bed as well. Consider installing a timer on your lights if you have trouble remembering to do this step every evening.

Holiday Fire Safety Tip #4: Control Your Kitchen

It’s no surprise that the vast majority of home fires start in the kitchen. After all, that’s where so much of your heat and flame reside! Ovens, stovetops, deep fryers and even simple appliances like toasters can be dangerous in the right circumstances.

When you are cooking, prioritize this activity. Stay near your heat source and keep a close eye on your meal as it cooks. Even stepping away for a moment is enough time for a grease bubble to pop and a fire to start on your kitchen towels.

Because of how quickly fire situations can get out of control, be mindful of any flammable materials in your kitchen area. Keep towels, pot holders and holiday decorations far away from your heat sources, and always roll up your sleeves before getting to work.

A good idea is to keep a lid nearby when you are cooking. If a fire does start, you can easily smother the flames by throwing the lid on your burning pan. Never use water to put out a kitchen fire, as it can react with grease and make the situation entirely worse.

What To Do After a House Fire

Unfortunately, even if you take all of the precautions possible, suffering from a house fire is not always preventable. Whether a forgotten candle lit your curtains ablaze or your turkey dinner turned your kitchen into a sooty mess, having a professional fire restoration team handle your cleanup is essential.

Fire has the frustrating ability to cause damage in areas of your home that the physical flames never touched. Soot can travel to different levels of your home, and the smell of smoke can linger for years if it is not handled carefully.

A professional fire damage restoration team will deep clean your home, sanitize your space, employ deodorizers against stubborn smells and will help with your reconstruction. A full recovery is possible when you hire the right team for the job.

House fires can be incredibly destructive. Let our talented fire damage restoration team at Exit Mold handle your entire cleanup and recovery. Call us today at (516) 512-7877 for a quicker restoration.

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