A safe holiday

Let's be safe this holiday
BY MORRIS & JAMES CAREY | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

We have written about holiday safety for two decades.

Despite the repetition, there are always folks who need help guiding them through a safe holiday season. Here are some tips from the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors and the National Fire Protection Agency.

DECORATING
Use caution with holiday decorations. Look for those made with flame-resistant or noncombustible materials.

Keep candles away from decorations and other combustible materials, and don't use candles to decorate Christmas trees. Always use nonflammable holders.

Choose artificial icicles made of plastic or nonleaded metals, and avoid sharp or breakable ornaments.

Keep trimmings with small removable parts out of reach of children. .

Place older ornaments and decorations that might be painted with lead paint out of the reach of small children and pets.





TREES
Look for the "Fire Resistant" label when buying a faux tree.

Check for freshness in a live tree. A fresh tree is green, its needles are hard to pull from branches and when bent between your fingers, needles do not break.

Place the tree away from fireplaces, radiators or heaters.

Cut a few inches off the trunk to expose the fresh wood. This allows for better water absorption and will help keep your tree from drying out and becoming a fire hazard. And keep the stand filled with water.








LIGHTS
Never use electric lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity from faulty lights, and someone touching a branch could be electrocuted.

Before using lights outdoors, check labels to be sure they have been certified for outdoor use.

To hold lights in place, string them through plastic hooks, not nails or tacks.

Make sure all the bulbs work and that there are no frayed wires, broken sockets or loose connections.

Plug all outdoor electric decorations into circuits with ground fault circuit interrupters to avoid potential shocks.

Inexpensive remote controls can be used to safely turn off exterior decorations during a rain or snowstorm.

Turn off all lights when you go to bed or leave the house. The lights could short out and start a fire.

Use heavy gauge extension cords (the lower the gauge-number the better the extension cord). For example: 12 gauge is better than 14 gauge is better than 16 gauge.




ENTERTAINING
Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the United States. When cooking for holiday visitors, remember to keep an eye on the range.

But wait, there's more.