Stay safe this Christmas with our fire safety tips!

Christmas is fast approaching and by now, many of you will be putting up your Christmas tree and decorating your home just in time for the festive season. But, have you thought about how your Christmas tree and decorations could potentially become a fire hazard? 

Below, we’ll be providing you with some fire safety top tips to help you stay safe this Christmas.

Christmas Trees

A beautifully decorated tree is the centrepiece of many homes at Christmas but they’re also the fuel for many fires.

If you choose a live tree, special precautions need to be taken when keeping the tree in your home. Always select a freshly cut tree - you can work out the freshness of a tree by checking the following:

• • Needles: The needles on fresh trees should be green and hard to pull back from the branches. The needle should not break if the tree has been freshly cut. 
  • Trunk: The trunk should be sticky to the touch. Old trees can be identified by bouncing the tree trunk on the ground. If a lot of needles fall off, the tree has been cut for a while and dried out which makes it a fire hazard.
    

Once you’ve selected your tree, you need to make sure you care for it correctly, you can do this by:

• Placing your tree away from any heat sources such a fireplace or radiator. The heat will dry out the tree, increasing its chances of igniting if exposed to heat, flame or sparks.
  
  
• Keep your tree stand filled with water at all times and don’t put it up too early or leave it up for longer than two weeks.
  
  
• Once the festive period is over and it’s time to dispose of your tree, discard it promptly by taking it to a recycling centre - don’t try to dispose of your tree at home and never put any branches or needles in a fireplace or wood burning stove.
  

Decorations and Fairy Lights

Decorations and fairy lights never fail to make a house look and feel festive but they can become hazardous. Here are some fire safety tips to follow:

Decorations

Many Christmas decorations are made of light tissue paper or cardboard burn easily so make sure you:

• Don’t attach decorations to lights or heaters.
• Never place them above or around the fireplace and always keep them away from candles and naked flames.
  

Fairy Lights

When decorating your home with fairy lights always:

• • Only buy Christmas lights that are marked with a safety standard.
  • Check the fuses are the right type (see the box for the maximum size of fuse you should use) and if any bulbs blow, replace them.
  • Turn the fairy lights off when you go out or when you go to sleep.
  • Don’t let the bulbs touch anything that can burn easily, like paper.
  • Don’t overload sockets.
    

We hope you stay safe and have a wonderful Christmas!

Find out more about our range of fire training course here.

Sources:
https://www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/public-safety/campaigns/events/christmas-safety https://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/christmas-safety/
https://eazysafe.com/blog/health-safety-tips/fire-safety-tips-christmas-eazysafe/