Christmas time

A time of celebration with family or friends, a time that should not end in tragedy. However at this time of year hospital emergency rooms are full of people with injuries, shocks from faulty fairy lights, in addition, Christmas trees are involved in many fires each year some resulting in fatalities.

We want you to have a happy holiday at Christmas time and recommend you consider our safety precautions:

• When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label that says “fire resistant”. Although this does not mean the tree will not catch fire, it does indicate the tree will resist fire and extinguish quickly.
• When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green.
• The needles are hard to pull off the branches.
• The needles are hard to break when bent in two in your fingers.
• The trunk butt (end of the tree) is sticky with resin.
• When the tree is tapped the needles should not fall off.

Where do I put my Christmas tree?

• When setting up your tree at home, place it away from fires and radiators. A heated room will cause the tree to dry out too rapidly.
• Avoid putting it up too early and leaving it up for more than two weeks.
• Place the butt in a stand of water and remember to top it up, keeping all electrics well away. This will enable the tree to stay fresh and minimise electric shorts.
• Remember do not block doorways with your tree, keep all emergency routes available.

Fire precautions should be adhered to when keeping a live tree in the house. A burning Christmas tree can rapidly fill the room and house with smoke, fire and deadly gases. This can be seen in the video above.
Dispose of your tree at a recycling centre.

Fairy Lights:

Fairy Lights, Christmas tree lights are taken out of the cupboard or loft and dusted off at this time of year. They have not worked for 12 months and should be checked first before applying them to your tree.

• If purchasing new light look for the safety mark , which indicates conformance to safety standards.
• Check the set of lights new or old for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires or loose connections, and throw damaged sets out.
• Plug them in and look for any bulbs that have blown, replace them.
• Do not overload sockets.
• Always switch off lights when you leave the house or go to bed. The lights could short out and cause a fire.
• Avoid the bulbs touching anything that can easily burn like paper.

Never use lights on a metallic tree. The tree can become charged with electricity and a person touching a branch could be electrocuted.