How to keep your celebrations safe this holiday season
‘Tis the season for a lot of celebrations. It’s also the season to put safety first.
The Clark County Fire Department and University Medical Center held a safety demonstration event Thursday at the Silverado Ranch Community Center to help Las Vegas Valley residents stay safe when cooking holiday meals and decorating for the season.
In the kitchen, officials recommend things like keeping lids handy to put out any grease fires.
“We do not recommend putting water on a grease fire,” said Capt. Clark Lamping of the Clark County Fire Department. “We do not recommend using a fire extinguisher to hit a grease fire. All we do is take a lid and put that lid on top of the pan.”
Other safety tips include keeping children and pets out of the kitchen to minimize tripping hazards, as well as leaving food in the oven if it catches on fire. (The oven is fireproof, and the fire will extinguish itself.)
When it comes to preventing fires around the Christmas tree, officials say your cords should all be in top condition and replaced if they show any sign of damage, including burns.
Cords and trees should also be protected from the four-legged kind of hazard.
“For some reason, animals love to chew these extension cords, and they like to chew the trees,” Lamping said. “Let’s try to keep our pets and our animals away from all of our electricity.”
Contact Paul Pearson at ppearson@reviewjournal.com.