While the joys of Christmas surround the putting up of twinkly lights, lighting festive candles and setting brandy on fire for the Christmas pudding, these traditions also come with a fair share of fire safety concerns. And although we do not want to be a Grinch, we do want to highlight a few fire safety issues and tips to ensure you all have a merry, yet safe festive period.
Check your Christmas tree lights
You must ensure your Christmas lights carry the British Safety Standard sign. This validates that the lights are compatible with the Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 and are safe to use.
Your Candles
Candle sales rise by more than 1000% in the lead up to the Christmas period, as do the number of candle-related fires. However, we completely understand that candles are aesthetically pleasing, incredibly festive and create a great ambience in the family home. This is why we want to ensure all of our readers are using their Christmas candles in a safe manner. Here are a few tips to make note of:
- Always ensure your candles are blown out at the end of the night
- Keep your candles away from the Christmas tree and other flammable materials
- Burn candles in a well-ventilated room
Overloading Sockets
Overloading plug sockets is something we see not only at Christmas but all year round. This is a huge fire safety concern and is one of the main causes of electrical fires in the home. For this reason, please ensure that you are not plugging multiple extension leads into one another in order to light up your decorations.
Open Fireplaces
There is nothing more Christmassy than an open fireplace! However, throw in a few eggnogs and the person looking after the fire may not take their fire guarding duties as seriously as they should. This is why investing in a fireguard is essential in our opinion, especially if you will have children in the house over Christmas and New Year.
Last, but not least, have a great Christmas!
