Stay gas safe this Christmas!

Tinsel is all very well but don’t block ventilation! And the festive cooking may call for a window being opened… make sure you stay gas safe this Christmas! 

Deck the halls

Who doesn’t love tinsel, garlands and copious amounts of baubles? Personally, we have metres of the stuff. It takes hours to hang up and takes over most of the loft. But oh, how it transforms the house! 

However, tempting as it is to adorn every space with strings of lights and tinsel, it is important to ensure that you don’t restrict ventilation sources or place decorations too close to heat sources. 

Here are our top tips when it comes to decorations and how to stay gas safe this Christmas:

• Don’t attach decorations to heaters or lights
• Candles should not be left unattended
• Do not light candles near flammable decorations
• Switch any Christmas lights off when not in the house and at the end of the day 
• Never overload sockets with too many plugs 
• Ensure you have a guard for any open fires

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

How about the actual tree? Whether it is real or fake, there are a few things to bear in mind when it comes to safety:

• When putting up your Christmas tree, choose a spot well away from any radiators, open fires or woodburners
• Never burn candles on your tree – we don’t like in Victorian times! 
• Check that your fairy lights carry the British Safety Standard sign
• Don’t smoke too close to your tree
• Chosen a real tree? Make sure the tree stand is filled with water or sand

Food, glorious food!

Who doesn’t go all out when it comes to festive food? However, without trying to put a dampener on on proceedings, most fires start in the kitchen and it’s hardly surprising that during the Christmas period, there is a rise in fire-related incidents. 

Here are our top tips to stay gas safe this Christmas when it comes to cooking:

• Do not leave your oven unattended when it’s on – in particular the hob
• Tempting as it is to enjoy a tipple or two, take it steady when cooking as you’re much more likely to suffer an accident if you’re under the influence! 
• Keep children away from the oven and any other hot appliances
• Test your smoke alarms and CO2 alarms before the Christmas holidays 
• Open the kitchen windows if you are cooking for long periods of time to increase ventilation 
• Remember to turn everything off when you’re done – the last thing you want to do is to accidentally leave the gas hob on

Have an amazing get together and stay gas safe this Christmas – all you need to do is follow our advice!

We hope you found our article, ‘Stay gas safe this Christmas!’ of interest. From all of us at Gas Training & Assessment, we wish you a very merry festive holiday!