Top Causes of House Fires During the Holidays

1/6/2022 (Permalink)

If fire damage happens in your home, our highly-trained experts at SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra are ready to help!

Top Causes of House Fires During the Holidays

On average, there are about 350,000 house fires in the United States each year. Approximately 47,000 of these fires happen during the winter holiday season. A house fire during such a festive time of year is tragic, but understanding how house fires happen is a good way to help prevent them. Let’s take a look at some of the common causes of holiday house fires.

• Cooking fires are one of the leading causes of house fires, all year round. They’re even more common at the holidays, when people are baking and cooking for crowds while distracted.
• Candles are popular over the holidays. Unfortunately, this also means an uptick in the risk of candle fire. Be very cautious whenever you use candles, keeping them away from flammable objects and never leaving them unattended.
• Your most festive decor can lead to disaster. Your Christmas tree may be beautiful, but if you’re not careful, it can become the deadliest thing in your house. If you don’t water your tree properly, it can dry out and easily catch fire. Additionally, many people decorate with treasured keepsakes passed down through generations. If any of these beloved items have damaged electrical cords or other flaws that make them flammable, they can pose a real danger.
• Holiday celebrations often lead to electrical overload. Your favorite lights and light-up decor can all result in fire hazards. Some of the most common and hazardous mistakes people make are stringing several extension cords together, running more than three light strands end to end, or using strings of lights that are worn out or in poor condition.
• Because they’re winter holidays, space heaters are a hazard. Not everyone has central heating, and sometimes when guests are plentiful, sleeping arrangements become creative. Portable space heaters are great for warming up a chilly house or bringing heat to a sleeping porch, but they can also be dangerous. Never plug a space heater into an overloaded circuit, keep them away from flammable objects and curious children, and follow the safety requirements given by the portable heater’s manufacturer.

Being aware of the causes of house fires can help you prevent tragedy in your own home. To keep your home and family safe, make sure working smoke alarms are installed and keep fire extinguishers at the ready. Create an escape plan and make sure every family member understands it before you ever face a fire.

We hope these tips will help you avoid a house fire, but we know accidents sometimes happen. If fire damages your home, you don’t have to face it alone. The highly-trained experts at SERVPRO of Jacksonville Beach/Ponte Vedra are here to help, with more than 40 years of experience in fire damage repair and restoration.  A trusted leader in the industry, we have the experience and equipment to repair fire and smoke damage, restore your Jacksonville, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach or Ponte Vedra area property, and get everything back to normal. Call (904) 246-6118.