American Red Cross Safety Tips for the Holiday Season
It’s an extremely busy time of year, but bear in mind, safety should be the top priority at all times, especially during the holidays!
Decorations like trees, lights and candles greatly increase the risk of home fires during the holidays – with Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day being the top three days for home candle fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
WEIS Radio would like to share some very important tips regarding the placement of lights and ornaments, provided by the American Red Cross:
- Check all holiday light cords to make sure they aren’t frayed or broken. Don’t string too many strands of lights together; the rule of thumb is no more than three per extension cord
- Artificial trees should have a fire-resistant label. When putting it up, keep it away from fireplaces, radiators and other sources of heat.
- With a live tree, make sure it’s fresh and water it frequently. Bend those needles up and down to make sure no needles fall off.
- If using older decorations, check their labels. Some older tinsel is lead-based. If using angel hair, wear gloves to avoid irritation. Avoid breathing in artificial snow.
- When decorating outside, make sure that the decorations are for outdoor use and fasten lights securely to your home or trees. If using hooks or nails outside make sure that they’re insulated to avoid an electrocution or fire hazard.
- If using a ladder be extremely careful. Make sure you have good, stable placement – and wear shoes that allow for good traction.
- Don’t use electric lights on metallic trees.
- Don’t forget to turn off all holiday lights when going to bed or leaving the house.
- Keep children, pets and decorations away from candles.
- If hanging stockings on the fireplace mantel, don’t light the fireplace.
The American Red Cross also urges people to stay safe from home fires – the nation’s most frequent disaster – by testing smoke alarms and practicing their home fire escape plan with free resources at redcross.org/homefires.
HOME FIRE CAMPAIGN SAVE LIVES Every eight minutes, donations to the Red Cross help someone affected by a disaster—most often, home fires. Sadly, these events take more lives each year than all other natural disasters combined in the U.S. To prevent these tragedies, the Red Cross launched the national Home Fire Campaign in October 2014, working with volunteers and community partners to install free smoke alarms and help families create escape plans.
Through the campaign, the Red Cross and its partners have reached more than 1.6 million people and helped save at least 474 lives across the country by:
- Installing more than 1.5 million free smoke alarms
- Making 623,000 households safer from the threat of home fires
- Reaching more than 1.2 million children through youth preparedness programs
You can help save lives by making a financial donation to support our mission,
Signing up to become a volunteer or taking steps to protect your family from home fires.
Visit redcross.org to learn more.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.