Stay Safe During the Holidays - Be Smart

12/6/2017 (Permalink)

Nothing brightens the Christmas holidays more than a beautifully decked-out tree. But without proper precautions, Christmas trees, lights and candles can pose real fire hazards to homes, offices, and schools. Shorts in electrical lights or flames from candles, lighters, or matches start most tree fires. For every nine home fires that begin with a Christmas tree, says the NFPA, one person dies—compared to one death in every 75 home fires unrelated to Christmas trees.

Here are a few fire safety tips to ensure a merry, healthy, and safe Christmas for your family and friends.

-Get a fresh tree and make sure it’s not dry. Bounce the tree trunk on the ground; a fresh tree will keep its needles.

-Keep the tree hydrated with a water capacity of at least 1 gallon. Replenish the water every day.

-Place the tree in a safe location, approximately 3 feet away from heat vents, space heaters, radiators, baseboard heating, and fireplaces.

-Avoid electrical mishaps. Don't overload outlets. Connect no more than three strands of lights to a single extension cord. Don't run extension cords under rugs, across doorways, or near heaters.  If possible, use a surge protector.

From all of us here at SERVPRO of Columbia and Suwannee Counties, we wish you a worry-free and safe holiday!  We wish a Merry & Safe Christmas to all of our North Central Florida communities including Lake City (Columbia County), Live Oak (Suwannee County), Lake Butler (Union County), Jasper (Hamilton County), MacClenney (Baker County), Mayo (Lafayette County) and Madison (Madison County).