With Victorians adorning their homes with festive fairy lights in the lead up to the holiday season, firefighters have reminded people to check the wiring and placement of their lights.
Chief Officer of Country First Authority (CFA), Jason Heffernan urged Victorians to take simple precautionary steps to ensure it was only Santa’s sleigh that visited this Christmas, and not a fire truck.
“Before setting your lights up, make sure the wiring is intact, check there are no missing bulbs or frayed cords and the lights are in good, working order,” CO Heffernan said.
“When plugging in your lights, remember not to overload power boards, and make sure electrical cords are not covered by a rug or mat,” he said.
“Tinsel and other festive decorations will be abundant but placing lights too close to these items can present a fire risk.”
CO Heffernan reminded people to turn their Christmas lights off when leaving the house and before going to bed to ensure they didn’t overheat.
He said that in September CFA responded to an electrical fire caused by fairy lights at a Ferntree Gully house which caused significant damage to the brick veneer property.
Incident Controller and Ferntree Gully firefighter at CFA, Todd Small said the incident demonstrated the risk associated with damaged festive lights.
“Please don’t leave fairy lights on all the time,” Mr Small said.
“Keep yourself and your loved ones safe,” he said.
“Electrical fires are among the top causes of house fires each year.”
CFA’s Christmas lights safety tips can be accessed at this PS News link.
