The Scott Fire Department is reminding everyone of some holiday-time safety tips.
"Don’t overload your sockets and power strips with holiday lighting. Instead of Ho! Ho! Ho! It's No! No! No!" a post from the department says. "A fire occurring is far worse than being on Santa’s naughty list."
Here are some facts about electrical fires from the SFD:
During the four-year period between 2015 and 2019, electrical distribution or lighting equipment, such as wiring, lighting, cords, and plugs, was involved in an estimated average of roughly 32,620 reported home structure fires per year.
These incidents caused an average of 430 civilian deaths, 1,070 civilian injuries, and $1.3 billion in direct property damage annually.
Electrical distribution or lighting equipment ranked first in direct property damage, and third among the major fire causes in the number of home fires, home fire deaths and home fire injuries.
Wiring and related equipment accounted for six percent of all home fires and 11 percent of all home fire deaths.
Cords or plugs were involved in only one percent of home fires but seven percent of the deaths. Extension cords dominated the cord or plug category.
Here are some more safety tips:
- Be careful with holiday decorations. Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
- Keep lit candles away from decorations and other things that can burn.
- Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
- Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections.
- Read manufacturer's instructions for number of light strands to connect.
- Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.
- Keep decorations away from windows and doors.
Here's the full post:
