How to Not Burn Your House Down this Holiday Season

WESTLAKE, OH - The holidays are a time to celebrate the warmth of brotherhood. It is not a time to mourn the warm embers of your home. The City of Westlake provided a list of tips for residents that want to keep their home in one piece through the holidays.

First and foremost, make sure all of your smoke detectors are functioning and that you have multiple detectors throughout the house.

• Don't leave your candles near things that can easily catch fire. That includes all your holiday trimmings, like wreaths and ribbons.
• Don't seal off emergency exits that could prove useful in the event of a fire. Some people place insulating wrap over doors and windows to prevent heat from escaping and keep their heating bill low. Before doing that, make sure you're not accidentally trapping your future self in a fire.
• Extension cords: Don't overdo them and keep a watchful eye that you're overloading them.
• Open your fireplace before you start a seasonally-appropriate fire. Failing to open the fireplace can cause smoke to billow out and damage your home.
• Chopped down a Christmas tree this year? That's awesome. Good on you for supporting a local nursery. But don't forget to water the tree and don't place it near a fireplace or other heating source. If you forget to water the tree, it'll dry out and become extra-flammabale. How can you tell if your tree is dead and drying? Watch the pine needles. If a ton of needles flake off, your tree may be drying out.
• Get your chimney cleaned. Buildup of different particles in the chimney can cause sparks to ignite and a fire to start.

PHOTO of burning Christmas tree from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission video, via YouTube