We 80s kids were bombarded with fire safety announcements, drills, books, songs — you name it, there seemed to be a fire safety version of it. We stopped, dropped, and rolled like it was some TikTok dance. We recited Smokey the Bear’s “Only you can prevent forest fires” tagline along with him. Whoever was in charge of fire safety campaigns 30-40 years ago deserves praise. Those messages were downright omnipresent.
In 2020, however, fire safety seems to have taken a back seat to (gestures all around) the current mess of a world we live in. I get it. But as someone who has always been very diligent about fire safety but still had a fire happen to her 14 years ago, I beg you not to push fire safety to the back of your mind.
According to recent data from the U.S. Fire Administration, residential fires are more common in the winter months. Stay safe this winter and don’t add to the figurative dumpster fire that has been recent times with an actual fire.
Don’t leave candles unattended.
Candles create wonderful ambiance any time of the year but especially in the cold and dark winter months. (Scented ones also do a great job covering up the smell emanating from a diaper pail.) Keep an eye on your lit candle, and keep it out of reach of your kids. Do not light a candle if you know you could easily fall asleep and forget to put it out. I tend to only use flameless candles, which now come in a wide variety of sizes and scents.
Perform regular maintenance on heat-related appliances.
If you are able to afford it, have a reliable and trustworthy technician or other professional look at your furnaces, fireplaces, and heaters on a regular basis (we do this once a year in mid-fall). Have them inspect the appliance to ensure it is safe to operate and doesn’t present any fire hazards. Between service visits, make sure to keep the appliance in good shape and promptly fix any issues before they become large and potentially dangerous.
Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Make this a regular part of your to-do list. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends testing your detectors once a month (yes, once a month) and changing the batteries twice a year (try making it a part of your daylight savings routine). If you rent, make sure your landlord or management company has a regular schedule of testing and maintaining their detectors — ask them what it is.
Be mindful of space heater use.
If you choose to use a space heater, use caution. Keep any flammable material three feet or more away from the heater. Make sure your space heater is the only heat-producing device plugged into its outlet, and avoid plugging it into a power strip or extension cord. If possible, try to only use space heaters with automatic shut-offs, which will turn the unit off if it tips over. And just like a candle, never leave it unattended when operating.
Treat lamps like they are a heat source.
This is a fire safety tip rarely spoken about, but one that should be. During my 16-year career working at a large university, we had multiple small fires each year started by students who had a piece of clothing on top of a lamp. Or the lamp had a frayed cord, or it would be plugged into an overloaded power strip. Remember that lamps do get hot, and any fabric that touches the bulb for an extended period of time could burn.
Get rid of your holiday décor in a timely manner.
If you have a real Christmas tree or garland, make sure it is out of your house in a timely manner after the end of your celebrations (especially this year, when many people purchased trees the week of Thanksgiving). A several-week-old dried-out tree could be fire fuel. Plus, if you get rid of it in a timely manner, you won’t be vacuuming up pine needles until Easter… which may have happened to me the first year I had a real tree.
For more information about winter fire safety, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s Put a Freeze on Winter Fires campaign.
