Holiday Decorating Safety

Type : Holiday Decorating Hazards

 

Each year, thousands of people in the United States are seen in emergency rooms due to injuries related to indoor and outdoor electrical decoration mishaps.

  • 76 percent of homeowners decorate their homes during the winter holiday season.

  • 70 percent of Americans plan to use electrical lighting and decorations indoors.

  • Holiday decorations and Christmas trees account for almost 2,000 fires and more than $41 million in property damage each year (Source: National Fire Protection Association)

  • Candles are the source of ignition in 56 percent of home decoration fires.

  • More than 20 percent of Americans do not turn off holiday electrical lighting and decorations before going to sleep or leaving the house.

  • 25 percent of all home decoration fires occur in December.

  • On average, 5,000 people visit the emergency room each holiday season due to indoor and outdoor electrical decoration mishaps (Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission).

  • Nearly 130,000 fires will be reported in December alone, causing more than 400 fatalities and 1,600 injuries.

  • Almost one-quarter of all Christmas tree fires are caused by the tree being placed too close to a heat source.

  • The number of children killed or injured by fires more than doubles during the holiday months.

  • According to the National Christmas Tree Association, overloaded electrical outlets and faulty wires are the most common causes of holiday fires in residences.

  • According to Underwriters Laboratories, each year, an estimated 370 fires involve Christmas trees, both real and artificial and 12,500 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to holiday decorations.

  • Last holiday season there were about 200 Christmas tree fires in American homes, caused primarily by faulty lights and resulting in 10 deaths and more than $10 million in property loss (Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

  • Approximately 330 residential struc­ture fires occur each winter holiday where decorations are involved in the ignition (Source: U.S. Fire Administration).

  • Candle fires cause an estimated $12,200 in property damage per fire (Source: National Fire Protection Association).

  • Holiday decorative lights are involved in more than 200 home structure fires per year, causing more than $7.5 million in direct property damage (Source: National Fire Protection Association).

  • According to Underwriters Laboratories (UL), emergency rooms treat 164,000 ladder-related injuries each year, many of these during the holidays.

  • Another 14,000 house fires are started yearly by misplaced or mishandled flame candles, causing 170 deaths and $350 million in property loss (Source: National Fire Protection Association).

  • December is the peak time of year for home candle fires (Source: National Fire Protection Association).