Keeping Your Home Safe During the Winter

The holiday season is the time of year when many people’s thoughts turn to the twelve days of Christmas with leaping lords, milking maids, and partridges in pear trees. This is also the time of year when home fires peak. Approximately one-third of home fires and home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January, and February.
Our friends at State Farm Insurance want to remind everyone that the potential for a home fire is highest during the winter months. To help keep your family and loved ones safer during the holiday and winter season, learn how to avoid the twelve fire hazards of the holidays.

Cooking Calamities
Cooking remains as one of the top causes of home holiday fires. The most common cause for these fires is unattended cooking. While Thanksgiving Day is the top day for grease and cooking related fires, December isn’t far behind.

Children Playing with Fire
The number of fires and the number of deaths caused by children playing with fire goes up significantly during the holidays. Do not leave children unsupervised with ignition materials such as matches or lighters.

Burn Wood in the Fireplace
Do not burn trash, cardboard boxes or Christmas trees because these items burn unevenly and can cause a dangerous flash fire.

Caution with Candles
Christmas Day is the peak day of the year for home candle fires. Make sure candles are in stable holders and place them where they cannot be easily knocked down. Never leave the house with candles burning.

Holiday Lights
Inspect holiday lights each year for frayed wires, bare spots, or broken sockets before putting them up. Remember to turn off holiday lights before leaving the home or going to bed.

Counterfeit Electronics
Christmas lights are the perfect product for counterfeiting – high volume and low manufacturing cost. Look for CSA or UL certification marks that indicate that the product has been tested and has met the product safety standards.

Electrical Outlets
Don’t overload your electrical outlets with too many lights or decorations.

Electrical Cords
To reduce the chance of overheating, electric cords should never be bundled together or run under rugs or carpet.

Christmas Trees
Fire safety precautions need to be taken when keeping a live tree in the house. Needles on fresh trees should be green and hard to pull back from the branches. Regularly give the tree plenty of water.

Space heaters
Home heating equipment is second to cooking fires for the number of home structure fires. More than half of home heating fires occur during December, January and February. When setting up a space heater, remember to keep at least three feet of clear space around it and set it up on the floor unless it is designed otherwise.

Dirty Chimney
Most chimney fires are due to the buildup of creosote, a highly combustible by-product of burning wood. To protect your chimney from creosote buildup, have it inspected and cleaned annually.

Dirty Fireplace
When cleaning your fireplace, put embers in a metal container and set them outside to cool for 24 hours before disposal.

For more safety tips, go to http://www.statefarm.com/learning/learning.asp. Happy Holidays from Austin Habitat and State Farm Insurance