According to experts, holiday lights could pose a serious personal injury and property damage threat to the safety of entire families, especially if they fail to recognize that certain steps should be followed in order to minimize the risks.

So that your home and your loved ones are safe during the holiday season, you’re being urged to follow some important steps so that accidents are avoided.

Check Your Power Outlets

According to safety experts, people plug one too many lights to one or two outlets. The electrical burden often causes short circuits, thus increasing the risk of fires that could expose consumers to property damage and personal injury risks. Recently, an accident involving Christmas lights resulted in a fire. While property damage stemmed from the incident, no persons were injured.

At stores specialized in Christmas decorations, employees often work hard to make sure that decorated trees are safe from potential fire incidents. According to experts, if you have lights and a tree inside of your home, making sure the lights are turned off before everybody goes to bed could help you to prevent potential fires.

Leaving the house with the lights on could also lead to accidents.

Natural Trees Could Pose Even Greater Risks

Experts have been urging families with natural Christmas trees to keep an eye out for dry needles. Once trees begin to dry out, they are more likely to being impacted by potential fire risks. Warm lights can cause needles to catch fire, thus leading to potential fiery incidents.

Inspecting the lights before putting them up could also help you to avoid incidents. Lights that are about to go out or have burned out should not be used. If your lights set has lights that have gone out, experts want you to retire those items and focus on getting new sets due to safety concerns.

Watering the trees daily could also help to avoid fires.

When it comes to artificial trees, experts urge consumers to look for items that come with “Fire Resistant” labels. These trees are often made with materials that are more resistant to heat than others. When placing the tree inside of your house, make sure to keep it at least three feet away from any heat source such as fireplaces or radiators. Space heaters should not be placed near your tree.

Whether you’re putting up just a few lights this year or you’re working on making sure that your Christmas decoration gets this year’s neighborhood prize, enuring lights are safely used will keep you and your loved ones from suffering any potential incidents.

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