Northwest Iowa — With the holiday season coming up the risk of fires and accidents goes up.
We talked with Orange City Fire Chief Denny Vander Wel, and he told us some things to keep in mind to prevent fires and stay safe this holiday season. He started by suggesting that you should fill your house guests in on any emergency plans at your house, in case something happens.
VanderWel says one thing that can cause a fire if you’re not careful is a space heater.
He says another fire hazard involves holiday cooking.
Many people like to use candles around the holidays, but according to Vander Wel, they’re one of the worst offenders safety-wise.
Vander Wel says they had an example of that this past fall. He says the occupant had left a candle burning unattended on a bottom shelf when there was another shelf a bit higher up the wall. He says they returned to a house full of smoke because the top shelf started to burn.
He tells us that while newer LED holiday light sets are better than old ones, you still need to be careful.
He says while more and more people are getting artificial trees, a fair number of people do use live trees. He gives us some advice about those.
He says that while there aren’t that many Christmas tree fires, if it does light on fire, it’s an emergency, and your time is short.
Vander Wel wrapped up our talk by saying that the Orange City Fire Department wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season.
