As Christmas approaches we are all working to make our holiday cottages as festive as we can. Twinkling lights, trees, and seasonal displays can create a warm and welcoming atmosphere – but it’s essential to remember that decorations, if not properly assessed, can pose serious fire risks.
Essential Christmas Decoration Safety suggestions
-
- Flame Resistance: Choose decorations that are labelled as flame-resistant or flame-retardant. Decorations should ideally comply with BS EN 13501. Artificial trees should be explicitly marked as fire-resistant. Real trees must be kept in a stand that holds water and should be topped up daily to prevent the wood from drying out and becoming highly flammable.
- Strategic Placement: Keep all decorations, including cards and tinsel, away from heat sources such as fireplaces, radiators, heaters, and light bulbs.
- Clear Escape Routes: Ensure that trees and large displays do not obstruct any emergency exits, doors, or evacuation routes.
- No Open Flames: It is strongly recommended to ban open flames, such as traditional candles, in holiday lets. Provide battery-operated LED candles as a safer alternative.
- Certification: Only use lights that carry recognized safety standard marks, such as the British Safety Kitemark, UKCA, or CE mark. Before installation, meticulously check light strands for frayed wires, cracked sockets, or loose connections. Replace damaged sets immediately rather than attempting repairs. PAT test the lights to check their safety.
- Timed Shut-off: Use automatic timers to ensure all decorative lights are turned off overnight or when guests are away.
- LED Preference: Use LED lights instead of traditional bulbs; they use less energy and generate significantly less heat, reducing overheating risks.
- Fire Risk Assessment: Revisit your fire risk assessment to include the Christmas decorations and any actions necessary to minimize risk.
- Welcome Book Updates: Include a specific “Christmas edit” in the guest welcome book, instructing them to turn off lights before bed and reiterating the no-candle policy.
For the majority of the cottages that we dress for Christmas we provide the decorations; and so carry out these checks before they are put up; at each changeover while they remain in use; and finally before they are put into store until next time.