Here's why I compiled and posted this list:
From November through New Year's there's a 39% increase in household fires. In NYC alone, Christmas trees are involved in over 800 fires annually, resulting in 40 deaths (90% of which are children under the age of 10), 150 injuries and an average of more than $15 million in property loss and damage.

To ensure my son is familiar with Fire Safety I print out the list in the extended entry, give him his fire marshal hat and have him help me conduct a fire inspection. He reads off each one out loud and then checks off each one as we find we're in compliance. Then on a given Saturday morning we review our apartment fire exit plan and run a drill for our 2 fire exits. If we are able to keep it under last year's time he not only gets a sticker, he gets an ice cream sundae! This year I'm also involving my sitter as I've been working late every blue moon and I want to make sure she knows what to do.

No matter how you celebrate the holidays, there are many things that you can do to make sure that your family has a safe and comfortable holiday. Here's a number of tips I always keep with my holiday decorations, and which I anonymously mail to my idiot neighbor upstairs, since he had his Christmas fire (which partially burned and flooded my apt.) 4 years ago. This list is a reminder of all the things we should be carefol of as we decorate and celebrate during the holidays. Please feel free to add your own safety tips in the comments. Thanks!

The sources for these tips were culled from the: Fire Department of New York, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This was originally posted on 12/6/05.
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Posted by: Michele at 12:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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