As a Home Inspector, I admit I am a bit more uptight about home safety than most people. 

No, my kids don't wear crash helmets in the bathtub, and I don't have bumpers on all sharp edges or anything.  But I do try to take care to make my home (and those I inspect) a little safer in a common sense, everyday-use kind of way.

With the holidays coming, most people's thoughts turn to family, gifts, decorating, and good times.  Ok, mine do, too.  But all the while, lurking right below the surface, is the nagging awareness that there are so many safety concerns that I wish people thought a little about.

So, without being a Grinch or telling you not to decorate, here are the Top 5 Most Common Holiday Safety Tragedies:

1.  Cooking

Yeah, this surprised me, too.  Apparently, most of the 125,000+ December fires are cooking related (at least according the the USFA).  In addition, some alarming lack of food handling knowledge might contribute to illness. 

For example:

• 1 in 4 of us admit to thawing the turkey on the counter (it should be thawed in the fridge or upside down in cold water)
• 4 in 5 of us let hot foods cool before putting them in the fridge (this is not necessary and can let bacteria grow)
• 3 in 5 people travel over an hour with a holiday dish to share (2 hours is the limit on time before your treat becomes a mini-bacteria fest)

2.  Candles

The CPSC estimates there are over 14,000 candle-related fires every year, leading to about 170 deaths

3.  Falls/Shocks/ Decorating "mishaps"

About 10,000 people each year go to the hospital for an injury related to decorating.  Of these:

• 62% are age 20-49
• 43% fall off ladders
• Men are 40% more likely to be injured than women

4.  Christmas Tree Fires

The CPSC estimates that there are about 200 Christmas tree related fires every year (not as many as I would have guessed, but more than there should be) leading to about 10 deaths.

5.  Product Safety

This last one is just my own observation, no science or government agency to back it up.  But, I would like to remind everyone that the CPSC has good information on product recalls, toy safety, and other important reminders, notices, and alerts.  (Actually I like this info so much, I am adding free CPSC appliance research to my home inspection reports.)

Yeah, I know, I have issues.  But maybe someone will be safer for it this year, and that makes it all ok.

Happy Holidays (from your Safety Grinch)!

Sherlock Homes Inspections

www.SherlockHI.com