Holiday Safety Tips That You Should Know About

The Holiday Homeowner’s Guide of Home Inspector
Safety Tips That You Should Know About

The winter holidays are a time for joyful celebrations, decorating, cooking and entertaining friends, family, and guests. Unfortunately, the holiday season comes with an increased risk of fire and accidents. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, more than one-third of home decorations fires are started by candles. December is also considered to be the deadliest month for electrical fires.


As you prepare for the holiday season, be diligent in following best practices for home winterization and holiday safety tips. Let’s take a look at some tips that you be aware of this holiday season. Along with these tips, develop a plan to winterize your home and implement an annual property inspection of the property.

Handle Candles With Care:

Beautiful candles light up the holidays with a special and pleasant aroma.
With more than half of the home decoration fires in December started by candles, it’s imperative to use them with caution. Don’t be a statistic this holiday season, here’s what you should know to help avoid candle fires this season.

• Give your candles at least 12 inches of clearance on all sides, place them on a stable and sturdy surface protected by hurricane globes.
• Make sure that candles are far away from flammable decorations, pine garlands, and other dry arrangements.
• Keep pets and children away from lit candles
• Don’t leave lit candles unattended and keep well away from Christmas trees
• You may want to consider switching from wax to flameless candles. This is a safer battery operated substitute.

Check Your Christmas Trees:

Although Christmas tree fires are not common, when they do occur, they are extremely dangerous. On average, 1 of every 45 reported home Christmas tree fires resulted in death.

With Christmas trees, it’s important to keep heat sources away. It’s reported that a heat source too close to a Christmas tree causes 1 in every 4 winter fires.

Here’s What You Can Do To Help Prevent Christmas Fires:

• Keep your tree away from fireplaces, radiators, and space heaters.
• Select natural trees that are fresh and green as possible.
• Be sure to cut an inch or two off the bottom before placing it in a stand to allow water to be absorbed into the tree.
• Keep the tree from drying out, by keeping the stand filled with water.
• With artificial trees, only buy trees that are labeled “ fire resistant.”
• If your artificial tree comes with lights, look for the Underwriters Laboratory ( UL) seal of approval. This will indicate that the proper wiring was used.
• Make sure the base is steady so the tree won't tip over easily.
• Inspect string lights for any frayed cords or cracked lamps.
• Replace any broken lamps and throw away strands with frayed cords.
• Turn off holiday lights when you go to bed or leave for the evening.
• Consider an outdoor timer or smart outlet to switch lights on and off with.
• Carefully review older strands of lights for frays, cracks, loose connections that can overheat.
• Make sure that you’re replacement bulbs match the voltage and wattage, and avoid overloading extension cords and wall sockets.

Heating Equipment Precautions:

According to the U.S Fire Administration, approximately 2,650 people were killed by house fires in 2008. Heating-equipment such as fireplaces and furnaces continue to cause many deaths each year. Which is why you should have a professional furnace check-up listed on your winterization or holiday to-do list.

Here’s What You Can Do To Prevent Heating-Equipment Fires:

• Have a professional inspect your furnace, clean out air ducts, and sweep the chimney before you need to heat your home this season.
• Also with space heaters, don’t use them until you are certain that they are safe and passed your inspection. Make sure that you use space heaters with caution.
• Check batteries on smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Don’t forget to check expiration dates. Consider upgrading to a smart smoke detector that can send you email alerts and text message whenever it senses danger.
• Make sure that your fire extinguisher is accessible and unexpired.

Fireplace Safety Precautions:

• Before lighting any fire, remove all greens, boughs, papers and other decorations from fireplace area. Check to see that the flue is open.
• Use care with "fire salts," which produce colored flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain heavy metals that can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting if eaten.
• Do not burn wrapping papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely.

Secure Your Home With Common Sense

This may seem like basic common sense but keep your travel plans off Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and any other means social media networks. As matter of fact, keep your travel plans offline. Which means avoiding posting where you are going, when you are leaving, or when you will be back. Even with the highest level of security on your social networks, posting this type of personal information is prime information for a thief because he or she will have the leverage of knowing your travel plans.

• Use your home burglar alarm system.
• If you plan to travel for the holidays, don’t discuss your plans with strangers.
• Have a trusted friend or neighbor to keep an eye on your home.

Keep your Christmas tree and gifts underneath away from windows or other places that may have a view. The idea here is not to entice or give burglars an invitation to break through a window and steal your gifts. You may even want to consider investing in a doorbell cam or some sort of outdoor security camera to deter porch pirates. To take it to the next level, if you’re expecting deliveries consider getting a package locker or secure drop box to keep on your porch.

Toys and Ornaments:

• Purchase appropriate toys for the appropriate age. Some toys designed for older children might be dangerous for younger children.
• Electric toys should be UL/FM approved.
• Toys with sharp points, sharp edges, strings, cords, and parts small enough to be swallowed should not be given to small children.
• Place older ornaments and decorations that might be painted with lead paint out of the reach of small children and pets.

Children and Pets:

• Poinsettias are known to be poisonous to humans and animals, so keep them well out of reach, or avoid having them.
• Keep decorations at least 6 inches above the child’s reach.
• Avoid using tinsel. It can fall on the floor and a curious child or pet may eat it. This can cause anything from mild distress to death.
• Keep any ribbons on gifts and tree ornaments shorter than 7 inches. A child could wrap a longer strand of ribbon around their neck and choke.
• Avoid mittens with strings for children. The string can get tangled around the child’s neck and cause them to choke. It is easier to replace a mitten than a child.
• Watch children and pets around space heaters or the fireplace. Do not leave a child or pet unattended.
• Store scissors and any sharp objects that you use to wrap presents out of your child’s reach.
• Inspect wrapped gifts for small decorations, such as candy canes, gingerbread men, and mistletoe berries, all of which are choking hazards.

The holidays can be the wonderful and joyful time of the year, be sure to take all precautions needed to fully enjoy the season. We wish you a joyous and safe holiday season from S&J Home Inspections LLC. We are here to assist you with home winterization and annual property inspections all year round.