Holiday Fire Safety: Commit a Minute

candle It is easy to think that a home fire would never happen to your family, but there are more potential risks around your home than you may think – especially during the winter months. Fires grow so quickly that it can take just seconds for a spark to fill a room with toxic smoke. A recent study showed that within three seconds of ignition, a dry scotch pine is completely ablaze; within 40 seconds, a flashover occurs that engulfs the entire room and releases dense, deadly, toxic smoke.¹

The good news is, it can take less than a minute to help prevent a tragedy. What can you do to help keep your family safe this season? Prepare, plan and prevent.

1. Prepare

First, be prepared. Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home and near sleeping areas. You should test your alarms every week and make sure that you can hear them from behind closed doors. Involve children in the testing so that they know what the alarm sounds like and what they should do if it goes off. You should also change the batteries at least twice a year. An easy way to remember to change the batteries is to do it every time you change the clock for daylight savings time.

2. Plan

Be sure your family has a fire escape plan in place. Make a quick drawing of the floorplan of your home and identify at least two exits from every room. Go over the plan with your kids and identify a meeting place outside of the house such as the mailbox or neighbor’s driveway. Be sure to hold a fire drill and practice getting out of the house with your children at least twice a year. Families with infants or very young children should plan how to get those children out. Older children can be taught to stay low in case of fire, feel doors before opening them and never return to a house once they have gotten out.

3. Prevent

In addition to being prepared, there are also some simple ways to help prevent some of the most common causes of home fires during the holidays. Many of these steps only take a minute and can prevent what could be a lifetime of regret.

Home Heating Safety
It’s no surprise that home heating fires peak during the winter months.² With increased fireplace use, chimney fires are a greater risk, as are fires caused by errant sparks. Take a minute for safety today and call to have your chimney inspected and cleaned. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends cleaning once a year to reduce the risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning due to creosote build-up or obstructions in the chimney. Also, always use a fireplace screen to prevent sparks from getting out of the fireplace. Never burn wrapping paper in the fireplace as it can cause an intense burst of heat that can lead to a fire.

In addition to fireplaces causing unintentional fires, space heaters are involved in a large number of home fires. In fact, space heaters are responsible for the majority of fatal home heating fires.³ The most common cause of a space heater fire is leaving it too close to something that can burn such as a blanket or curtains. Space heaters should be positioned at least three feet away from objects and placed on a firm surface to prevent tipping. Never leave a space heater unattended and always shut them off before going to bed. Objects such as coats and mittens should never be placed on a space heater to dry. Click here for more on space heater safety.
Candle Safety
Another common cause of fire during the holidays is candles. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, candles account for more than 12,000 fires annually.⁴ If you decide to use candles in your holiday decorations, always blow them out before you leave the room. Curious children are fascinated by fire, so be sure to store matches and lighters out of your children’s reach. Teach your kids that if they see an unattended, lit candle they should always tell you. Your kids can take a part keeping your home safe for the holidays.
Cooking Safety
During the holidays, more home fires start in the kitchen than in any other room in the house. It’s not surprising, therefore, that more kitchen fires start on Thanksgiving than on any other day during the year.⁵ The best way to stop a cooking fire before it starts is easy – cooks need to stay in the kitchen. You should never leave a cooking pot or oven unattended, even for just a minute. Designate the area around the stove as “kid free” and be sure to keep dishtowels and other things that can burn well away from the stove. When cooking, it’s also a good idea to turn the handles of pots inward in case small kids do enter the kid-free zone and reach for the handles. For more information on kids and kitchen safety, click here.