It's time to deck those halls—safely. More than 800 home fires are caused by holiday decorations each year, according to the National Fire Protection Association. An additional 150 home fires are caused by Christmas trees each year.
Keep these tips in mind for a safe holiday season.
Carefully inspect all electric decorations before you use them. Cracked or damaged sockets and loose or exposed wires can cause serious shock or start a fire.
Make sure all extension cords and electric decorations are being used properly—indoor-rated cords indoors, outdoor-rated cords for outside.
Inspect extension cords for damage and discard any that are not completely intact.
Never mount or support light strings in a way that might damage the cord’s insulation.
Outdoor electric lights and decorations should be plugged into circuits protected by ground-fault circuit interrupters.
Exercise caution when decorating near power lines. Keep yourself and your ladder at least 10 feet away.
Turn off all indoor and outdoor electric decorations before leaving home or going to sleep.
Avoid overloading electrical outlets with too many decorations or devices. They can overheat and cause a fire.
Never connect more than 3 strings of incandescent lights together.
Water your Christmas tree daily.
Keep all decorations at least 3 feet away from heating equipment.
Avoid using candles. The flames are just too dangerous with all the flammable decorations around.
Purchase decorations from reputable retailers that are approved by a nationally recognized testing lab such as UL Solutions, Intertek or CSA Group.