The best way to promote holiday safety in your home is to be aware of the dangers that might be lurking around. Here are a few of the most common fire hazards this time of year and how you can avoid them:
Heat Sources
Whether you’re using a fireplace or space heater to stay warm, these units can create a fire hazard. With a fireplace, never go to bed without extinguishing the fire completely and be sure to always use the screen. For space heaters, only use them intermittently and keep them away from anything flammable (these are also good tips for fireplaces).
Christmas Tree
Every year, fire departments deal with accidents caused by Christmas trees. While artificial trees can present a fire hazard (the plug and lights), live trees are a much bigger concern. For live trees, select the freshest one you can, keep anything flammable at least three feet away, and water it every day.
Unattended Stove
Household fires start every year in the kitchen and many of these can be attributed to a “light it and leave it” attitude. When you’re prepping a family feast for the holidays, be sure that either you or someone you trust is always keeping an eye on what’s going on.
Holiday Candles
We get it – candles are pretty – but they also present a fire hazard when left unattended. It isn’t uncommon for small children, household pets, and clumsy adults to knock them over. For this reason, you must keep your candles far away from anything flammable and never go to bed without extinguishing them.
Overworked Outlets
Between Christmas lights, holiday decorations, and children’s toys that need to be charged, it’s easy to overwork an outlet. As you might imagine, this can quickly cause a fire hazard. Limit the number of devices plugged into a single outlet and use a surge protector whenever possible.
If you’d like more tips on holiday safety, please contact the professionals at Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric Company. We’ve been serving the HVAC needs of Yuma and the surrounding area since 1952.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Yuma, Arizona about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 928-723-3183.
