Dec

12

Home Safety Tips: Holiday Hints

Filed Under Home Safety Tips 

The winter holidays are a time for celebration, and that means more cooking, home decorating, entertaining, and an increased risk of fire and accidents. While you may be familiar with some of these tips, we recommend that you check these guidelines to help make your holiday season safer and more enjoyable.

  • Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home fires in the U.S.  When cooking for holiday visitors, remember to keep an eye on the range.
  • Take care with candles. Be careful when burning candles, and be sure to keep them away from decorations or other combustible materials. Don’t leave children unattended in a room with lit candles, and always keep candles, matches, and lighters out of their reach. Never use lit candles as tree decorations.
  • Before lighting any fire: Remove all greens, boughs, papers and other decorations from fireplace area. Check to see that the flue is open.
  • Use care with “fire salts” , which produce colored flames when thrown on wood fires. They contain heavy metals that can cause intense gastrointestinal irritation and vomiting if eaten.
  • Do not burn wrapping papers in the fireplace. A flash fire may result as wrappings ignite suddenly and burn intensely.
  • Watch children and pets around space heaters or the fireplace. Do not leave a child or pet unattended
  • When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label “fire-resistant.”
  • Indoor and outdoor lights should be on an automatic timer for energy savings.

Just to make sure Santa doesn’t have any problems getting up and down your Chimney, a few more Chimney Care fire prevention tips:

  • Use wood that has been dried for at least a year
  • Best to get a chimney sweep to check it if you haven’t used it for a long time. Cracks in brick chimneys can start attic fires!
  • If you habitually use soft woods for your fires, it really pays to have the chimney swept for creosote build up so a fire doesn’t accidentally start in the chimney itself on the holiday!

ENJOY every minute of the holiday season, stay safe, warm, dry and treasure the memories, new and old. We’ll be here to help you in 2010 to make your New Year even better with a new Kitchen, Bath or Deck for Santa’s Sleigh.  Look forward to some exciting specials in January!

The HB Building + Design Team

The HB Building + Design Team’s 2009 Holiday Party Row 1:   Tony-tile, Jane-CEO, Design, Bob-President, Building, Steve-CFO, Brian-Tech,   Jessica-Deisgn   Row 2: Fernando-Tech, Juan-Tech, Monique-Marketing (missing Mary, our bookkeeper!)

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