With December being one of the busiest months for preventable home fires, Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services is committed to raising awareness about key safety tips to ensure a safe holiday season for one and all.
LFES reminds you to take simple precautions to ensure safety and prevent fires when cooking, decking the halls and hosting yuletide cheer.
Holiday Safety Tips
- Cooking Safety
- Unattended cooking is the leading cause of kitchen fires. Stay in the kitchen when frying, boiling, grilling or broiling.
- Keep combustible items like oven mitts and dish towels away from the stove.
- If a grease fire occurs, smother the flames with a lid and turn off the burner – never use water.
Chief Fire Marshal Troy Hicks says one simple tip is to pay attention to what you’re doing when cooking over the holiday season. “A lot of times we’ll have a house full. Everybody will be making merry and having a good time. People are in the kitchen cooking and they want to bring stuff out and mingle with everyone that’s out there and we’re not paying attention.”
Hicks adds it’s very important not to wear loose fitting clothes when around a stove cooking and make sure to have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. “If you don’t have a fire extinguisher, make sure you have a lid beside you when you’re cooking. Especially, when you’re cooking with grease.”
“When cooking turkeys, chickens or whatever you’re going to cook this year for Christmas dinner and it’s in the oven, don’t leave your house unattended while the cooking is going on,” notes Hicks.
If food catches fire in the oven, Hicks encourages cooks not to panic. “Take a breath and hit the power button and do not open the door.”
2. Decoration Safety
- Inspect holiday lights for frayed wires or broken sockets before use.
- Use only lights certified by a recognized testing laboratory (CSA or ULC) and avoid overloading outlets.
- Keep combustible decorations away from heat sources, such as candles, fireplaces and space heaters.
“When you’re decorating your house make sure to have a look at all the items before you put them up on the tree or in the home,” says Hicks. “Make sure you look at your wires and check to see if the lights are working.”
Electrical fires happen quite often over the holiday season, Hicks explains. “We want to minimize that risk by using proper cords and cords that are intact and not damaged. Preferably, we’d rather see people use power bars instead of extension cords.”
3. Heating Safety
- Maintain at least one metre of clearance between space heaters and anything that can burn and always turn them off before leaving the room.
- Ensure chimneys and fireplaces are clean and inspected annually.
- Use battery-operated candles as a safer alternative to open flames.
Hicks highly recommends using a battery-operated candle more than a regular fire candle. “The risk of a fire is huge. Whether it’s children around – they’re excited about the holidays. Or pets get excited when you have more people at the house and they’re just running around crazy and having a great time. You want to make sure there’s no risk of the candles – either someone bumping into it, it falling over or maybe you open a window and there’s a possibility your drapes or curtains blowing on top of it.”
Remember to shut off battery-operated candles, lights decorations, etc. when done or when leaving the room.
Hicks says he still hears about Christmas trees being lit and being on 24 hours a day. “I don’t recommend it. You just don’t need that risk.”
“If you’re leaving the house or going to bed, make sure your candles, if you are using real ones, they’re blown out and completely extinguished. If they’re battery-operated, shut them off. If you have any of your Christmas trees on, your lights – shut the power off and/or unplug them,” says Hicks.
4. Clear Exit Pathways
- Keep exits free from decorations, packages, boots or furniture to ensure a quick escape in an emergency.
- Regularly practice your home fire escape plan with all household members.
“We all have get-togethers over the holiday season. A lot of people come in. People come over and have winter boots and a lot of different shoes and jackets. Don’t pile everything up in front of your door. Make sure your doors and exits are clear at all times,” says Hicks.
Don’t have decorations blocking your door, as well and remember, every second counts in an emergency or fire situation.
Over the holiday season, Hicks says, there’s a lot more people at home and there’s a higher risk of fires. “We do run into a lot of cooking fires over the holiday season.”
“The people hosting parties or dinners are so focused on wanting everything to be perfect that small things or just normal things slip your mind,” adds Hicks. “Just being observant on what they’re doing will help minimize an awful lot of those fires.”
