December 2018 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 5
Don’t forget these safety tips during the holidays
By JENNIFER COLTON
Holiday celebrations add long-
term memories, but most of us
would rather avoid having emer-
gency responders crash the party.
Keeping your holiday celebrations
safe often involves being aware of
what is going on and where po-
tential hazards lie. Local experts
say holiday fires fall into three
main categories: electrical, deco-
ration-related, and cooking fires.
Heating: As the weather turns
cooler, home heating systems
need to be cleaned out and pre-
pared for the fall and winter
months, but when it comes to the
holidays, extra guests may mean
extra space heaters – and that can
increase fire risk.
Scott Goff, fire marshal for
Umatilla County Fire District #1,
says at this time of year the fire
calls they get usually have to do
with home heating. “People use
portable heaters and put them too
close to combustibles; they con-
nect extension cords to the heat-
ers and they leave the cord coiled
up so they can’t dissipate the heat
off it. Extension cords should be
stretched out.”
Goff says extension cords
should only be used with applianc-
es on a temporary basis and never
on large appliances like refrigera-
tors and freezers.
Also make sure flammable
items and furniture is not placed
over baseboard heaters. If you are
using your fireplace for the first
time in some months, have the
flue swept clean by a professional
to reduce the risk of a chimney
fire.
“We do get a handful of sea-
sonal chimney fires,” Pendleton
Fire Department Lt. Jeff Perry
said. “It does happen here,
especially this time of
year with people burning
lots of wood. Make sure
you’re keeping those
maintained.” Also,
dried
wood produces less flammable
material in your chimney.
With any heating source, teach
kids about the rules and risks for
being near it. Make sure they
know in advance how close they
can get to a heater and what could
happen if they break the rules.
Decorations: Lighting is tra-
ditional at many winter holiday
celebrations, but candles start
two out of five home decoration
related fires. The Oregon State
Fire Marshal recommends using
battery-operated flameless can-
dles, but if you prefer traditional
candles, make sure to keep all
flammable items at least one foot
– ideally three feet – away from
the flame. Never leave a burning
candle unattended and make sure
it’s on a nonflammable surface.
And again, talk with any children
at home about the rules around
open flame and the risks of playing
with fire.
With your holiday Christmas
tree, choose one with a lot of
moisture – needles should not be
falling off – and keep it away from
heaters and fireplaces that could
dry it out more quickly. “A lot of
people put their Christmas trees
up pretty early in the season, so
making sure they don’t get dried
out is important,” Perry
says. “Keep it watered.”
While putting
up your decora-
tions, use ladders
and step stools
made for climbing,
rather than climb-
ing onto a pile of
whatever might be
convenient. Keep the
ladder’s feet on a firm, level
surface. No matter how earnestly
Uncle Bob claims he can hang the
lights while standing on a chair on
top of the car, it’s probably a bad
idea.
Cooking fires: The good news:
you’ve already survived Thanksgiv-
ing, the peak day for home cook-
ing fires. The bad news: Christmas
Eve and Christmas Day are the
second and third mostly likely days
in the year to have a home cook-
ing fire, according to the National
Fire Protection Association.
Unattended cooking is the lead-
ing cause of cooking fires – and
fatalities. Goff says his district
responded to almost a dozen
cooking fires in 2018. “Certainly
going into the holidays, we want
to make sure that people aren’t
getting distracted while they’re
cooking,” he notes. “Any time you
have something out of the routine,
that increases the risk you’ll be
distracted.”
The U.S. Fire Administration
says always pay attention to food
that is cooking – especially when
frying or cooking on the stove top
– and to keep young children at
least three feet away from a stove
or grill, as well as anything that
might catch fire.
Other holiday concerns: You
can reduce your risk of injury from
a fire by always having a clear es-
cape route and making sure every-
one in the home – even overnight
guests – knows the escape plan. As
furniture is moved to make way for
guests and decorations, be aware
of how that might slow people and
pets from getting out during a fire
– and how it could impact firefight-
ers who respond.
“With the holidays and the ex-
tra people, homes get cluttered,”
Perry said. “Items can block es-
cape routes and add more fuel to
a fire – which makes it hard to put
out and harder to get in and save
people.”
Take a critical look at your
holiday decorations and rearrange-
ment of furniture to make sure
everyone can escape – just in case.
If you are heading somewhere
else this holiday season, be pre-
pared for extra traffic and winter
weather. Keep an emergency kit in
your vehicle and keep your atten-
tion on the road.
“The number one thing is to just
slow down,” said Umatilla County
Sheriff Terry Rowan. “Drive for
the conditions and leave yourself
plenty of time to get where you
need to.”
Keep your family safe and let
the firefighters and emergency re-
sponders enjoy their own holiday
celebrations.
________
Jennifer Colton is news director of
KOHU and KQFM, and mother of
three, based in Pendleton.