Westchester Offers Fire Safety Tips For Holiday Season

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Safety during the holiday season is always a good topic to bring up year after year.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer and the county's Department of Emergency Service teamed up Thursday to give helpful fire safety tips for county residents during the 2020 holiday season.

"The professionals here at DES know the ins and outs of fire safety," Latimer said during a news conference. "This holiday season, while we all may be gathering less, heed their advice, follow these tips and keep your family safe from preventable accidents."

Topics covered included Christmas tree and holiday decoration safety, candle safety, electrical safety and proper use of a fire extinguisher.

Department of Emergency Services Acting Commissioner Richard Wishnie said the holiday season leads to an increase in these types of fire-related accidents.

"Westchester's career and volunteer firefighters are here to keep us all safe," he said, "but hopefully never need to use their training on your home thanks to these useful tips."

Here are some of the tips provided by the county:

Christmas Tree/Holiday Decoration Safety

Home fire fatalities increase during the winter, and while it's festive to see the decorations, they can increase the risk of a home fire, according to fire officials.

• Choose a tree with fresh, green needles that do not fall off when touched.
• Water your live Christmas tree every day. A dry tree is a fire hazard.
• Trees too close to a heat source cause one in every four winter fires.
• More than one in every four home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems.
• More than two of every five decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source.
• Make sure you are using the correct lights. Lights are for indoor or outdoor use, but not both.
• Replace string lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections.
• Read manufacturer’s instructions on string lights for the number of light strings to connect (i.e., don’t link more than three strings together).
• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.
• Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
• Make sure decorations don’t block windows and doors.
• Always turn off all decorative lighting before you leave home or going to bed.
• Test smoke alarms before putting up decorations to ensure they are operational.

Candle Safety

More than one-third of home decoration fires are started by candles, experts said.

• Keep lit candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns.
• Keep lit candles away from decorations.
• Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell and feel like real candles.
• Place candles in a sturdy candleholder that will not tip over.
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
• Never leave burning candles alone.
• Unattended candles are the cause of one in five home candle fires.

Electrical Safety

On average, 5,000 people go to the emergency room each holiday season because of indoor and outdo electrical decoration mishaps, according to experts.

• Inspect electrical decorations for damage before use. Cracked or damaged sockets, loose or bare wires, and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.
• Do not overload electrical outlets. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are a common cause of holiday fires. Avoid overloading outlets and plug only one high-wattage appliance into each outlet at a time.
• Never connect more than three strings of incandescent lights. More than three strings may not only blow a fuse, but can also cause a fire.
• Protect electrical cords from damage. To avoid shock or fire hazards, cords should never be pinched by furniture, forced into small spaces such as doors windows, placed under rugs, located near heat sources or attached by nails or staples.
• Check decorations for certification label. Decorations not bearing a label from an independent testing laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), have not been tested for safety and could be hazardous.
• Turn off, unplug and extinguish all decorations when going to sleep or leaving the house.

Fire Extinguisher

Know how to use the fire extinguisher before an emergency. If you have to use it, use the PASS method: Pull (the pin), Aim (the nozzle), Squeeze (the handle) and Sweep (from side to side).

A fire extinguisher should only be used on small fires. If the fire doesn't go out after the use of one extinguisher, leave the home and call 911 immediately. Make sure you have a family exit plan and have a meeting place outside to make certain everyone gets out of the home safely.

Watch the news conference here for safety demonstrations.

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