You've decked the halls to the max but as a homeowner it is very important to make sure your home is safe year round. A few years ago, just after the holidays, I was in the office when a past client called to say their parents were looking for temporary housing. While removing the Christmas tree from the house, a wayward branch had brushed past a lit candle and woosh...there was barely time to get everyone out before the entire home was destroyed.
Yes holiday fires happen very quickly. Whether it is an overloaded outlet, a frayed cord, a lit candle or a stocking hanging too low on the mantel, holiday fires are tragic and devastaing. The National Fire Safety Protection Agency has a ton of good information and fun to read tips to avoid fires.
To avoid being a statistic, we have upgraded all of our holiday lights to newer LEDs that burn cooler than the older tree lights. We check the cords annually when putting up and if there is any potential for a short, we just replace them. I also keep limit candle use to our dinner table (putting out as soon as we are done eating). Our family has avoided some of the fireplace drama with the warm
glow of digital fire. The front of our gas fireplace gets a bit warm so we opt for a festive glow on our HD screen. We have a new favorite Festive Yule Log discovered on Amazon Prime this year...it runs 3 hours with realistic fire and crackling sounds. It's a FREE download or you can watch directly if you have Prime...or under $2 if you don't have prime but want to buy. No terrible soundtrack of holiday music year so you can add your own or just enjoy the ambiant sound of the crackling fire. There's even a person putting on new logs and using the fireplace poker every now and again as the fire burns down. It's just like being there and the perfect touch of warmth in our family room as we ring in the new year.
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