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Celebrate Safely

Whatever your background, cultural and religious festivals can be an enormously important part of your life and the community in which you live.

But without wishing to dampen spirits, they can also be a time of year when the celebrating community is more likely to be distracted and less aware of risks, such as fire.

When celebrating your festival, think ahead:
  • Ensure that you check the smoke alarms in your home are working, check them on a weekly basis.
  • Make your plan. Get out alive - plan your escape route for the event of fire and ensure all your guests know where the door and window keys are kept.
  • Don't be distracted when cooking, fire starts when your attention stops.
  • Don't leave candles unattended.
  • Put candles in proper holders so that they cannot fall or be knocked over.
  • Keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, open fires and heaters.
  • Make sure smokers put their cigarettes right out.

Lights
Fairy lights, Christmas tree lights, multiple sets of lights and other kinds of decorative lights get used less often than your everyday lights, and they need more care.
  • Check the fuses are the right type (see the box for the maximum size of fuse you should use).
  • If bulbs blow, replace them.
  • Don't leave fairy lights on when you go out or when you go to sleep.
  • Don't let the bulbs touch anything that can burn easily, like paper.
  • Don't overload sockets.
  • Don't trail the cables of fairy lights underneath carpets or accross floors.

Decorations
Decorations made of light tissue paper or cardboard burn easily.
  • Don't attach them to lights or heaters.
  • Don't put them immediately above or around the fireplace.
  • Keep them away from candles.

Christmas Trees
Christmas trees are highly flammable especially as they begin to dry out.
  • Don't place Christmas trees close to open fires, portable heaters or radiators.
  • Don't leave fairy lights unattended for long periods of time whilst switched on.
  • Don't place Christmas presents too close to Christmas tree lights, heaters or fires.