At Rocky Mountain Catastrophe, we love the holidays. We get excited for the family time, the food, the fun, and the decorations too! Although all the fun holiday decorations put us in a festive mood, they can also be a risk to your home and your family. For instance, did you know that candle fires are over 3 times as likely to occur in December? Don’t get us wrong – we love decorations, we just don’t want them to cause you any trouble. Check out these holiday decorating tips to help make sure you and your family have a fun and safe holiday.
First of all, decorations involving candles – they can really set the mood during the holidays, but candles can also be a fire hazard. If you burn candles, try to place them somewhere they won’t easily be knocked or tipped over. Make sure to extinguish candles before going to bed or leaving the room, and NEVER leave a burning candle unattended. Consider using battery-operated flameless candles – the ones nowadays look and even smell like a real candle!
Battery-powered flameless candles can look and even smell like the real thing!
If you burn decorative candles, make sure they’re placed in a sturdy candle holder made of glass, ceramic, or metal – you know, material that shouldn’t easily ignite. Burn them a safe distance away from any other potentially flammable material, such as curtains, upholstery, or other decorations.
Burn candles in a sturdy holder made of material that won’t easily burn, such as metal.
For that matter, try to display only decorations that are made of flame-retardant or non-flammable materials. Most decorations these days should already be made of such materials, so if you find décor that isn’t, avoid using it.
If your decorations include strands of Christmas lights, check the lights for frayed wires or other damage before you plug them in. To reduce the risk of short-circuiting, avoid linking more than three strands of lights together at a time.
And last but not least – the Christmas tree! If you have a live tree for Christmas, be sure to water the tree daily. A well-watered and maintained tree is naturally less of a fire hazard. Poorly watered trees become dry and brittle, and dried fir or pine needles can be extremely flammable, so don’t let your tree dry out. Besides, who wants a dry brown Christmas tree either way?
To make your Christmas tree both safer and prettier, simply water it!
Christmas tree fires usually occur either when the tree is too close to heat or flames, or from an electrical short circuit. Again, check Christmas light strands for damage before wrapping them around your tree. Don’t display your Christmas tree too close to a heat source, such as a fireplace or space heater. Don’t use real candles as decorations on a tree, either. Stay safe and keep your candles away from the tree.
These tips should hopefully help to keep you and your family safe during the holidays. Of course, if you have any trouble, we at Rocky Mountain Catastrophe are ready to help 24/7 – even on Christmas! We can be there right away to help with any sort of catastrophe, from smoke and fires, to floods, to even plumbing problems!
To contact Rocky Mountain Catastrophe, call our office at 970-722-7744 or email [email protected].
In case of an emergency, call us in Grand County at 970-531-7308 or in Routt County at 970-819-1239, any day, any time, 24/7/365…we’re there when you need us!
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
For more info, check out www.fema.gov.
