Winter Safety Tips

What do the holidays mean to you? For many people, it means beautiful (and sometimes gaudy) lighting displays, festive times, great food, family fun, and making memories. Unfortunately, it’s also a very dangerous time when more accidents happen than at any other time of the year. It only takes an instant of carelessness to turn a wonderful time into a disaster.

A little caution can go a long way, and it can not only keep your holidays serene, peaceful and fun but can keep your celebration from turning into a tragedy. Discover some important winter safety tips to keep your family safe this holiday season, and what you can do if you get hurt in a holiday accident.

Winter Fire Statistics

House fires are more common during the holiday season than any other time of year. In fact, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are the three top days for candle fires in the home. Many of these are caused by decorations. In fact, 35 percent of Christmas tree fires are caused by lighting equipment or electrical distribution issues. A full 20 percent of decoration fires begin in the kitchen, with 17 percent starting in the family room, den or living room.

Winter Safety Tips

Avoiding holiday fires is largely a factor of care when decorating and using your lights. Don’t overload your outlets. Never plug a power strip into a power strip, for example, and avoid using multiple power strips on one electrical outlet. Make sure that your power strips have new, functional surge protectors. Carefully check your lights to be sure that there are no broken bulbs. Never leave your Christmas lights on when you’re not at home and in the room. Finally, if you use candles, don’t ever leave them unattended or leave the room with them lit.

Holiday Cooking Tips

Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the three leading days for cooking fires to occur. It’s important to follow basic safety tips to avoid this kind of tragedy. Thoroughly clean your stove and oven before you cook to avoid grease buildup, which can burst into flame suddenly and unexpectedly. Also, make sure that you never leave a burning stove unattended.

If you’re baking, keep anything remotely flammable away from the oven or hot appliances. Check your food often. Don’t wear loose-fitting clothing while cooking. Keep kids and pets away from the cooking area. Finally, when you’re done the cooking, check, double-check and triple-check to be sure that all of the appliances, the oven, and the stove have been turned off.

Clear Your Walkway

One safety tip that’s too-rarely addressed is the issue of snow and ice removal. Clear your sidewalks and walkways of snow and ice. It’s better to have some salt tracked into the house than to face the risk of a lawsuit from a slip-and-fall injury. That’s not to mention, nobody wants to see their friends and loved ones get hurt.

If you are in an accident during the holiday season, and it’s because someone else was careless or negligent, you may be able to collect significant compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered to cover your medical bills, pain and suffering and more. If this has happened to you and you’re in the Mobile, Alabama, area, call Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys for help today.