Newswatch 16 This Morning teamed up with Home Depot near Wilkes-Barre this morning to tackle fire safety tips around the holidays. Every year, Home Deport joins forces with the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) to launch a safety awareness campaign around the holidays.
The following are tips to stay safe this season from Home Depot:
FYI: A heat source that was too close to the decoration was a factor in 48% of home fires that began with decorations, excluding Christmas trees (National Fire Prevention Assoc.).
- Get Ready for Guests with Easy Home Installations
- Make sure your home is prepared for holiday guests.
- Install tamper resistant receptacles to prevent young children from electrical shocks and burns at home.
- Extension Cords and Dimmers
- While decorating your home for the holidays, be sure to follow these tips to ensure that your decorations are operating safely with the appropriate extension cords. Use cords with proper wattage. Don’t overload outlets.
- Portable heaters are a great way to inexpensively heat a large room this holiday season. Although a portable heater is an easy way to add that cozy feel without an expensive electric bill, be conscious while using heaters as they can create several holiday hazards in your home.
- The Holidays are a great time to spend with family and friends, but it’s important to remember that if not planned safely, decorations and heated homes can be dangerous. Protect your family, guests and home with properly installed and maintained smoke alarms.
- FYI: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that about 3,300 home fires start from extension cords each year, killing and injuring more than 300 people. In addition, nearly 4,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for non-fire related extension cord injuries.
- Space Heater Safety
- FYI: Portable and stationary space heaters account for one-third (32%) of home heating fires and four out of five (79%) home heating fire deaths (NFPA)
- Smoke/CO Alarm Safety
- FYI: Unattended candles are the cause of nearly one in five home candle fires, and half of home fire deaths occur between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. (NFPA)
