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Red lights
mean a
safe holiday
WOODSTOCK — The Bungay Fire Brigade, Muddy Brook Fire Dept. and Woodstock Volunteers along with the Woodstock Fire Marshal join forces to help keep Woodstock safe this holiday season and they have advice on how to make your holiday safe.
Russ Downer, president of the Woodstock Volunteer Fire Association, said the fire departments are taking part in the Keep the Wreath Red campaign. The Woodstock Volunteer Fire Station #76 is sporting the white holiday lights outlining the front of the building and a wreath decorated with red bulbs.
Downer said the campaign is a visual reminder for all of us to take safety precautions during the holiday season and to make it a safe one for our families and loved ones. “Keep the Wreath Red” is to alert residents of fires caused by holiday decorations, candle burning and other preventable fires during the holiday season and promote prevention through awareness.
All of the wreath bulbs are initially red; if a residential fire is directly caused by holiday mishap between Thanksgiving and Jan. 2, one red bulb will be changed to a white one.
Holiday fire safety tips: Lights have specific overload limits that must be adhered to, and are labeled to let you know how many strings you can safely string together. Make sure extension cords are good quality, can take the amperage load of the circuit, tagged with a UL listed label, are not placed in footpaths or areas where they could become damaged and do not place under rugs or rug runners where they can create a fire hazard. For Christmas trees, fires come from: failures of various types of decorative electrical lights and open flames from candles, lighters or matches start tree fires. Keep your tree watered daily and keep it away from open flames and space heaters.
Candles: Put them out at the end of festivities; check that your holders can handle the heat and aren’t just for decorative purposes; position candles so children and pets cannot get near them.
Make sure your smoke detectors work and practice with your family ways to get out of the house. Clean your wood or pellet stove and vent pipe.
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