Greg shares some advice on potential safety hazards with your holiday decorations in this episode of Ask The Expert. 800 CHAB radio presents Ask the Expert with Greg Marcyniuk of Heritage Insurance located in Moose Jaw.
Here's a full transcript of the episode.
Rob Carnie: The holiday season is upon us. Christmas lights going up all over our city, and it's nice to get into that festive mood. Greg Marcyniuk, Heritage Insurance here with some Christmas safety tips. It's kind of an annual thing we do.
Greg Marcyniuk: That's correct, Rob. And it's a great idea to follow these simple rules over the holiday season, you know, to keep and have a safe time throughout this year. I know people aren't getting together as per recommend by Sask Health, so they're putting a little more into it for your holiday...decorations. First of all, don't overload electrical outlets, and make sure you check if there is any faulty wires, because these are a common cause of holiday fires.
Also, you want to keep fresh trees, I know it's nice to have that smell of a fresh pine, but make sure you water them daily because dried trees really become a huge fire hazard. If you've got candles, I really recommend that you do use battery-operated candles, because candles that are lit start almost half of the home fire throughout the holiday season.
So, it's a very good tip there. Also, keep combustibles at least 3 feet away from any heat sources, any heaters, anything like that or...and also check your decorations that you have, and make sure that they're either UL or CSA approved because if they aren't, they could be very hazardous and can cause a fire.
Also, when you are cooking, stay in the home, and don't ever leave it unattended, because an unattended cooking device is the leading cause of home fires, number one. Also, if you're going to bed or you're leaving your house, please, always unplug and, any of your decorations, and turn them off, because that can certainly cause a fire there.
So, just a couple of tips just to stay safe over the holiday season.
Rob: And as always, you share these tips online.
Greg: That's correct, at NoHassleInsurance.ca, or feel free to come on down to the corner of First and Fairford West, and we'd be more than happy to let you have a hard copy of this.
Rob: And Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Greg: Merry Christmas to you and thank you very much for all the people who have supported us over the year, and thank you, Rob, for continuing to get together and do this Ask The Expert.
(Video transcription via Speechpad)