Add fire prevention to your holiday to-do list

Follow these safety tips to make sure your home is fire safe during the festive season, writes Andrew Zvanitajs

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 23, 2022
Andrew Zvanitajs

The holidays are approaching and the cold weather is here to stay. Follow these safety tips to help make sure your home -- inside and out -- is fire safe during the festive season and throughout the winter.

Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look and even smell like the real thing. If you use real burning candles, place them in sturdy, burn-resistant holders that won’t tip over and are big enough to collect dripping wax.

For extra protection, put a glass cover over the flame. Keep candles away from children, pets, other holiday décor and bedrooms. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Always extinguish them before leaving the room.

If you are putting up holiday decorations around your home, always place them away from doors and windows, so exits are not blocked. Use non-flammable decorations and keep them away from heat sources, like vents, fireplaces and heaters.

Inspect decorative lights every year before using them. Replace the lights if there are broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires or loose connections. Use CSA-approved lights indoors and outdoors and follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

During and after a snowstorm, there are several things you can do outside of your home to help protect your family and assist the fire department. Always remove snow and ice from the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace exterior vents and exhaust pipes.

If a vent is blocked, carbon monoxide can build up inside the home, which can be deadly. Also, remove snow in front of all doors and ensure windows aren’t frozen shut, so you can easily escape in the case of a fire.

In an emergency, every second matters. If there’s a fire hydrant near your home or business, shovel at least a one-metre radius around the hydrant with a path to the street, so firefighters can quickly locate the hydrant if it’s needed.

Keep parked cars off the street while snow plows are clearing the roads. This allows crews to carry out plowing operations safely and keeps roads clear for emergency vehicles.

Don’t let fire prevention take a back seat to the fun and festivities this winter. Visit vaughan.ca/fire to learn more about fire safety.