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The holidays can be joyful and twinkling, but decorations, cooking and electronic gifts can bring fire risks.
Follow these tips to keep you and your loved ones fire-safe over the holidays.
Decorating and Christmas Tree Safety
- Keep fresh trees watered daily to prevent them from catching fire. Put trees up at least a metre away from heat sources, like a space heater, radiator, stove or candles.
- Replace broken or worn extension cords or string lights. Don't run cords under furniture, rugs or across pathways. Don't overload outlets and power bars.
- Use clips or hooks instead of nails to hang your lights to lower the risk of electrical fires. Upgrade to LED lights, which generate very little heat. Switch off your lights before going to bed or leaving home.
- Avoid real candles and go flameless. If you use candles, put them in a proper holder on a solid surface and at least 30 centimetres away from decorations and other things that can burn. Keep your pets safe by keeping candles out of their reach.
Cooking and Entertaining Safety
- While simmering, baking or roasting food, check it regularly and stay in your home while food is cooking.
- Keep anything that can catch fire, like oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging or towels, away from your stovetop.
- Keep children and pets away from hot stoves and ovens.
If you have a cooking fire:
- Get out – close the door behind you to help contain the fire and leave it unlocked for firefighter access. Call 911 after you leave.
- Keep a lid handy. If you have a small grease fire, slide the lid over the pan and turn off the stove. Leave it covered until it cools completely.
- For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Lithium-Ion Battery Safety
Most electronics we charge at home, like cellphones, laptops, power tools and cordless vacuum cleaners, are powered by lithium-ion batteries. These batteries store a lot of energy in a small space and can overheat, start a fire or explode if overcharged or damaged.
- Buy only safety-certified products. When buying a product that uses a lithium-ion battery look for a mark such as UL, ETL or CSA, which means it meets safety standards.
- Only use the battery designed for the device and the charging cord that came with it. Follow the instructions from the manufacturer. Don’t overcharge your device. Unplug it or remove the battery when it’s fully charged.
- Charge your device on a hard, non-flammable surface. Do not charge a device under your pillow, on your bed or on a couch.
- Store batteries away from anything that can catch fire.
For more holiday fire safety tips, visit the National Fire Protection Association website.