With Christmas just a few short days away, Barrow County Emergency Services is reminding residents to stay safe this holiday season.
“We want everyone to have a great holiday filled with loved ones and laughter,” Lt. Scott Dakin, public information officer, said in a news release. “One of the best ways to ensure good memories this year is to practice safety throughout the season and year round.”
Some safety tips to consider during this holiday season include having working smoke alarms in your home. Working smoke alarms can double the chances of surviving a house fire. Other tips include keeping your Christmas tree well watered throughout the holiday. You need to keep the tree watered until you remove it from your home.
You also should never burn wrapping paper in your fireplace. Wrapping paper will cause a large flame that can spread out of the fireplace and ignite items around it. It will also send sparks up the chimney which can ignite your roof.
Cooking is also a part of holiday traditions in many households. When cooking, residents need to stay in the kitchen to keep an eye on the stove. Keep flammable material away from the stove and keep the stove and area around the stove free of grease buildup. Residents are advised that due to the dangers involved in using turkey fryers the Underwriters Laboratory will not certify any turkey fryers. If a resident insists on using one, they need to follow several safety tips in order to reduce the chance of fires or burns from happening. These and other safety tips can be found at www.usfa.fema.gov
“We wish a very merry and safe Christmas to all of the great citizens we serve,” Chief Dennis Merrifield said in the release. “By keeping safety in mind we can have memories filled with our family and friends.”
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