Yang Rohr Encourages Safe Fire Practices throughout Holiday Season

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – With the holidays quickly approaching, state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, is encouraging local residents to use safe fire practices to prevent possible tree or home fires.

“Holidays often come with decorations, candles and Christmas trees, which for many are fun family traditions, but they can also greatly increase your risk for a home fire,” said Yang Rohr. “We all want to enjoy our holidays safely, so it’s important to follow and practice fire safety measures.”

According to the United States Fire Administration (USFA), more than half of the home decoration fires in December are caused by candles. USFA advises the following fire safety practices during the holiday season:

• Make sure holiday decorations are either flame retardant or flame resistant.
• Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything flammable.
• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.
• Extinguish all lit candles before going to bed or leaving the house.
• Check to make sure your lights are rated for indoor or outdoor use or both.
• Replace any light strands that have worn or broken cords and read the recommendation for the number of light strings you can string together.
• Turn off all light strings and decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
• If you have a real Christmas tree, make sure to check water levels daily. It is not unusual for a tree to drink two gallons of water the first day it is in the stand.
• Keep real Christmas trees away from a heat source. It can dry out the tree quickly.

“The top three days for home candle fires are Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Day, but fortunately, many fires are preventable by being mindful of your fire safety,” said Yang Rohr. “I want to wish every family in the 41st District a safe, happy and healthy holiday season, and I urge everyone to follow USFA’s fire safety guidelines.”