Experts weigh in on holiday decorating safety

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Streets are starting to glow with holiday lights, but hanging them up yourself can be dangerous.

Last year, almost 15,000 people made a festive trip to the emergency room during the holidays as a result of decorating-related injuries.

Dakota Renfro, a designer with ABC Home & Commercial Services, said falls are one of the biggest risks people face when hanging up Christmas lights. Factors like shingles on a roof and an improperly placed ladder can contribute to holiday injuries.

“We live in a very much do it yourself kind of world, and a lot of people want to try to get up there and get it done themselves,” Renfro said, “A lot of injuries that you see actually would be slips, trips, and falls.”

One way to eliminate the risk of injury is by hiring someone to hang up your lights. Chris Lamb of the Bryan Fire Department recommends professional assistance in holiday decorating.

“They have the equipment and they can do it safely, and they have the the ladders and harnesses and things that need to be done to reach those high angles,” Lamb said.

Installation services can cost consumers upwards of hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. If you’re going to DIY your lights this holiday season, there are precautions you can take to keep yourself safe.

“Ladders are secured to where they’re not going to fall down or slide down, making sure that people know what you’re doing,” Lamb said.

Renfro says the most common light installation-related injuries come from attempting to hang lights on the roof. Avoiding the roof altogether minimizes the risk of injury.

“It is a lot safer to put up than versus putting up the actual house lighting,” he said.

Falls aren’t the only risk of holiday decorating, though. Christmas Day has the second highest rate of house fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

“There’s a lot of Christmas trees going up, Christmas lights going up, candles being lit, fireplaces; so you can see where the fire risk goes up,” Lamb said.

One in five house fires during the holiday season are caused by Christmas lights. Renfro said this risk is present anytime you’re working with electricity.

Both experts say two major contributors to holiday electrical fires are worn out wires and overloading your plugs. Renfro cautioned against putting too many connections onto one circuit. According to Lamb, lights shouldn’t feel warm or hot to the touch if the wires are in good condition.

Lamb said the best way to prevent holiday fire injuries is to make sure your smoke detector works.

“Three out of five fire fatalities happen because people didn’t have working smoke detectors,” he said.

Lamb put together a list of his top holiday fire safety tips, shared below.

Replace broken or missing bulbsPick the right kind of lights (indoor or outdoor)Don’t link more than three strands together unless the instructions say soWires should not feel warm to the touchKeep your [Christmas] tree well watered and use indoor lights on itUse professional installers whenever possibleDon’t leave your lights up year-round due to wear and tear