Fire Safety Tips for Holiday Cooking and Baking
For festive celebrations, many families cook huge feasts. To reduce the risk of kitchen fires, keep flammable items, like grocery bags, kitchen towels, napkins, and paper plates, away from the stove and oven. Another way to reduce fire hazards in the kitchen is to clean up spills, especially those involving grease, right away.
Keep young children and pets safely out of the kitchen. Find activities to keep them occupied elsewhere in the home. Have a responsible adult present to babysit.
Holiday Tree Fire Safety Tips
Another fire safety concern is the holiday tree. If your family chooses to decorate a real tree, this will gradually become a fire hazard as the needles and wood dry out after the tree is cut. To help reduce the risk of fire, water your cut tree every day. When decorating, don’t use lights that are broken or malfunctioning. Choose lower temperature LED lights for use on a real tree. Whenever you leave the house or go to bed for the night, unplug the lights.
Safety Tips for the Fireplace
Sitting around a fireplace during holiday get-togethers is a cozy way to spend time. Use the fireplace safely by keeping flammable items away. Paper plates, boxes, wrapping paper, and napkins can ignite with stray sparks from the fireplace. Furniture, draperies, and rugs should be at least three feet away. Before going to bed or leaving the house, make sure all embers are fully extinguished so the fire cannot re-ignite.
Menorah and Kinara Safety Tips
Just like a holiday tree poses a fire risk, so do the candles on menorahs and kinaras. Many families opt to use electric models, but traditional candles can be used if done safely. To reduce the risk of fire, set the candles and candle holder on a flat, stable surface away from flammable items. Whatever surface you use should be heat-resistant to catch the melting wax.
As you get ready to celebrate this season, be prepared for fire safety during the holidays.
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