1. Inspect electrical decorations for damage before use. Cracked or damaged sockets, loose or bare wires, and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.
2. Do not overload electrical outlets. Overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are common causes of holiday fires. Avoid overloading outlets and plug only one high-wattage into each outlet at a time.
3. Never connect more than three strings of incandescent lights. More than three strands may not only blow a fuse but can also cause a fire.
4. Keep trees fresh by watering them daily. Dry trees are a serious fire hazard.
5. Use battery-operated candles. Candles start almost half of home decoration fires (NFPA).
6. Keep combustibles at least three feet from heat sources. A heat source that was too close to the decoration was a factor in half of the home fires that began with decorations (NFPA).
7. Protect cords from damage. To avoid shock or fire hazards, cords should never be pinched by furniture, forced into small spaces such as doors and windows, placed under rugs, located near heat sources, or attached by nails or staples.
8. Check decorations for certification labels. Decorations not bearing a label from an independent testing laboratory such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Canadian Standards Association (CSA), or Intertek (ETL) have not been tested for safety and could be hazardous.
9. Stay in the kitchen when something is cooking. Unattended cooking equipment is the leading cause of home cooking fires (NFPA).
10. Turn off, unplug, and extinguish all decorations when going to sleep or leaving the house.
Unattended candles are the cause of one in five home candle fires. Half of home fire deaths occur between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am (NFPA).
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