MAKE YOUR HOLIDAYS FIRE SAFE

As the holiday season quickly approaches us, Erlanger Fire/EMS encourages you to make sure your house is fire safe. We always see an increase in house fires during this season due to fire safety. So, take a look at the tips below to protect your home from fire.

• Regularly check your tree for fresh, green needles. Trees that have dried out over several weeks are easier to ignite. Remember to keep your tree watered at all times.    
• Make sure your tree stand holds at least 1 gallon of water. As a general rule, stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. The average 6-foot tree has a 4-inch diameter trunk and can consume as much as 4 quarts or 1 gallon of water per day.  
• Keep your tree at least 3 feet from fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, heating vents and other sources of heat. Don't place the tree where it blocks an exit.  

• Look for the UL Mark on light strings, electrical decorations and extension cords. The UL Mark means that UL engineers have tested representative samples of the product for foreseeable safety hazards such as fire and electric shock.
• Ensure lights, decorations and extension cords are rated for outside use. Lights intended for indoor-only use bear green UL Marks. Light strings intended for indoor and outdoor use bear red UL Marks.  
• Read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for electrical decorations.  
• Carefully inspect each electrical decoration - new or old - before plugging it in. Cracked sockets, frayed, bare or loose wires can cause a serious electric shock or start a fire. Replace damaged items with new, UL-Listed decorations.  
• Don't use staples or nails to hang light strings. Instead, purchase hooks or clips designed for hanging light strings.  
• Check packaging to determine the maximum number of strings that may be connected or use this rule of thumb: Connect a maximum of three midget (push-in bulbs) light strings or up to 50 bulbs of light strings with the screw-in bulbs (C7s and C9s).  
• Don't overload extension cords by plugging in too many decorations.  
• Turn off all electrical lights and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.  

• Keep candles away from decorations, curtains, bedding, paper, walls, furniture and other combustible materials.
• Place candles away from spots where they could be knocked over by a person or pet.  
• Use sturdy, non-combustible candleholders that can collect dripping wax and won't tip over.  
• Extinguish a candle when 2 inches of wax remains or a half-inch if the candle is in a container. This prevents heat damage to the surface and stops glass containers from breaking.  
• Don't leave children unattended in a room with lit candles.  
• Always keep candles, as well as matches and lighters, out of the reach of children.  
• Never use lit candles to decorate Christmas trees.  
• Extinguish candles when leaving the room or going to sleep.

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