We Wish You A Joyful Holiday Season

Be mindful of fire safety and carefully decorate your home with these safety tips from Property360 and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). According to the NFPA, an average of 790 homes incur structure fires each year due to decorations, and 160 fires start on the Christmas tree. Don’t let your home contribute to these statistics.

Statistical Holiday Fire Facts

• Electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in almost half of home Christmas tree fires. Most Christmas tree fires are started by faulty decorative lights.
• 11% of all fires started by candles are in December and January.
• Thanksgiving is the biggest day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve.

Tree Safety Tips

Use these helpful tips from the NFPA for Christmas tree safety.

Decorating Safety Tips

Use these tips from the NFPA for decorating safety.

Decorative Lighting Tips

• Don’t use electric lights on a metal tree.
• Don’t leave lights on while you are sleeping or away from the home.
• Keep your tree and gifts at least three (3) feet away from fireplaces.
• Make sure your lights are labeled by Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL).
• Inspect your lights for damage before you install them.
• Only use indoor rated lights indoors.
• Don’t use metal staples, tacks or nails to install outdoor lights.
• Don’t use indoor rated extension cords outdoors.
• Don’t overload extension cords or power strips with too many lights.
• Make sure all lights are plugged into GFCI rated receptacles – including outdoors!
• Never string more than three (3) strands of incandescent lights together. Use LED if possible.
• Make sure there is a working smoke detector near the tree and lighting. You can purchase a battery-operated detector at most hardware stores which can be temporarily hung just for this purpose.
• If you have a live Christmas tree, keep it hydrated! Dry/brittle trees can ignite easily.

Property360

Our team at Property360 would like to wish you and your family a joyful (and safe) holiday season! For home or building inspection services, please contact us at (904) 606-1570 to request inspection services today! We proudly serve the Jacksonville, Lake City, MacClenny, Fleming Island, Orlando, and the surrounding areas.