Christmas Safety Checklist

Christmas is a time for fun and celebration. It’s also a time for Christmas lights, decorations and candles, all of which pose a fire risk and have the potential to spoil the festivities if they are not installed and used properly.

To make sure you stay safe this Christmas, all you need is to exercise a bit of common sense. The following checklist is adapted from official fire safety guidance.

• Make sure your Christmas lights carry the British Safety Standard kitemark. Turn them off and unplug them before you go to bed.
• Be careful with candles – don’t place them near anything flammable, don’t leave them unattended when lit and keep them out of reach of children.
• Test your smoke alarms regularly and never remove the batteries.
• When cooking, don’t leave your cooker unattended and don’t cook whilst under the influence of alcohol.
• Don’t attach Christmas decorations to heaters or lights.
• Don’t overload sockets. Use this handy ‘socket calculator’ to make sure you’re safe.
• If you have an open fireplace avoid getting too close to avoid clothing catching fire or invest in a firescreen.
• Plan ahead – in the event of a fire do you know how you will evacuate friends and family quickly and safely? Don’t block escape routes.
• Make sure smokers completely put out cigarettes.
• If you’re having fireworks make sure they are kept in a safe, airtight container (Christmas biscuit tins are ideal for this – just eat the biscuits first!).
• Older people are at greater risk of fire so do keep an eye on them.

Whilst these guidelines have home owners in mind, these common sense guidelines are equally applicable to people in the workplace.

One last thing – if someone tries to tell you can’t have tinsel around your computer screens and a Christmas tree in your office, show them this Health and Safety Executive (HSE) case decision and watch with delight as they crawl back into their fun police box.

Ezra Safety Group wishes you a safe Christmas and Happy New Year.