Holiday Home Safety Tips

This article provided courtesy Protection 1®

While the holidays are a time to celebrate and spend time with your friends and family, it is also a time of the year where you need to remember take the necessary safety precautions to protect your loved ones as well.

Believe it or not, the holidays bring about added safety hazards and vulnerabilities that need to be taken seriously. Whether you are traveling for the holidays, doing a lot of shopping, or simply decorating your home, you should use the following safety tips to keep your family and home safe this season.

Holiday Tips

According to the National Fire Protection Association, natural and artificial Christmas were the item first items to ignite in many home fires resulting in deaths, injuries and property damage.  To lower fire risks never leave Christmas tree lights on when you are asleep or away from home.

• Always buy flame-resistant, non-combustible holiday decorations.
• Check all labels. Be sure that any lights you use indoor are certified for indoor use.
• Thieves are aware that many families travel during the holidays. To keep your home from appearing empty and vulnerable, put all lights on a timer so that it appears someone is cutting them on.
• Dispose of Christmas trees prior to any traveling or vacations.
• Unattended cooking is one of the leading causes of home fires. When entertaining holiday visitors, be sure to keep a close watch on anything that is being cooked.
• Poinsettias are hazardous to pets and can be harmful to humans as well. If you have pets or small children, avoid buying these plants.
• Keep decoration cords and candles out of pet and children's reach.
• After the holidays, take special care in disposing of your gift packages so that you are not advertising valuable items that you received.

General Wintertime Home Safety Tips!

•  Keep your heat above 55 degrees to keep pipes from freezing.
• Always keep all windows securely closed.
• Never leave a key hidden outside of your home. While you may think you have found a creative hiding spot, burglars are aware of them all. 
• Do not advertise that you will be out of town on social networks.
• Ask a trusted friend or neighbor to check on your home while you are away. See if they are willing to grab your newspapers, mail and possibly clear snow from your driveway. Burglars are less likely to attempt to approach a home that they know is being looked after.
• Aside from keeping your yard looking nice and neat, keeping tree limbs short also give burglars one less form of entry into your home.
•  Frequently check that all smoke detectors a are properly working.
• Install a peephole on your front door so that you can screen visitors. Also, always ask delivery people for identification before opening your door.
• Always be on alert. If you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood contact your local authorities.

These tips are from Protection 1®, one of the largest and most respected alarm monitoring companies in the U.S. Visit Protection 1 today for installation, maintenance, and monitoring of single-family home security systems, business security systems and multi-family security systems.

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