Christmas Tree Safety - PT I

A house lit up with Christmas lights is a beautiful sight to behold. But stringing lights across your roof and around your home can be a real safety hazard if you are not careful. So before you flip the switch to dazzle friends and family with your spectacular light show, take a few moments to run through a quick safety checklist.

 Before you string up a single strand of lights, carefully check them for cracked cords, frayed ends or loose connections.

The combination of shorts in electrical lights and a tinder-dry tree can be deadly. There are 250 Christmas tree fires and 14 related deaths each year, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. So keep your tree well-watered. Not only will it stay fresh and green, but it might also keep your house from burning down.

Modern lights have fused plugs, preventing sparks in case of a short circuit. Ditch old strands of lights that do not have fuses and get a set of newer, safer lights.  

If bulbs have burned out, replace them right away, but make sure you use the correct wattage bulbs.

Water and debris can get into outdoor sockets, so make sure outdoor lights are plugged into a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet to reduce the risk of shorts and shocks.

For more information visit www.evenflowmechanical.com