Henrico Fire offers holiday safety tips

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - As the temperature continues to drop and the holiday season pushes on, firefighters want to remind you about some important safety tips. Many of the decorations you put up can become a fire hazard if you’re not careful.

According to Battalion Chief Doug Reynolds with Henrico Fire, the first thing you need to watch out for this holiday season is your Christmas tree. A dried-out tree can easily catch on fire. If you’ve already had your tree up for a few weeks this is an excellent reminder to water it or remove any heat sources from around it.

“You know electric space heaters any kerosene heaters we got to keep those things away you got to keep up with the extension cords we’re using too many of them right now,” Reynolds stated.

Henrico Fire warns that space heaters should never be plugged in using an extension cord or power strip. They can often melt and catch on fire. Lights can also cause problems, especially if you’re using extension cords or daisy chaining your lights which involves connecting multiple fixtures to the same circuit.

“The biggest thing is when you have all those lights on when you go to bed or you leave your house the big key is to unplug all of those things,” explained Reynolds.

With the number of fires that happen over the cold weather months and with the holidays coming up, Reynolds says this is a perfect time to give what he calls a “gift for life.”

“If they have a two-story house a fire escape ladder, carbon monoxide detectors, flashlights for every room, a nice big address sign so we can see your house and know where you’re at, medical alert bracelets if you have like a medical problem,” he said.

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