Have a Safe Holiday, Part 4: Keep Fires in the Fireplace
Posted December 23rd, 2016 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Personal Injury.
This is it! The big weekend is upon us. Not only is Christmas on Sunday, but Hanukkah begins at sundown tomorrow and Kwanzaa begins Monday. It’s a holiday weekend extravaganza!
Do you know what all these holidays have in common? They all have fire hazards associated with them. Did you know that on average one out of every 31 reported Christmas tree fires results in a death, compared to an average of one death per 144 total reported home fires? That’s quite a lot. We’ve touched on fire hazards in a previous holiday blog but didn’t really go into depth. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, a Christmas tree fire is not too common, but it gets very serious very quickly.
And trees are not the only thing to start a fire. The NFPA says that Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are ranked second and third as the leading days for home cooking fires (Thanksgiving was number 1, go figure). In fact, on Dec. 25, 2014, there was a 65 percent increase in the number of home cooking fires compared to a typical, and a 57 percent increase on Christmas Eve. As for candles, the top four days for candle fires are Christmas Day and Eve and New Year’s Day and Eve.
Everyone wants a safe and happy holiday so here’s some fire safety tips from the NFPA to keep in mind this weekend:
- If you have a live tree, water it every day. The drier it is, the dangerous it can be.
- Instead of using a real candle, try a battery-operated, flameless candle. They may not give out the same heat but can look and even smell like the real thing.
- However, if you do use real candles, make sure they are secure in a candle holder. And make sure to place them somewhere where they won’t get knocked down easily.
- Remember to check your holiday lights. As we told you before, decorations can increase your risk of a fire so make sure they aren’t frayed or have any pinched wires.
Happy holidays, everyone! If you need legal help in 2017, contact the Law Offices of Anthony Carbone for a free consultation.
