Lombard Fire offers holiday safety tips

LOMBARD, Illinois—The Lombard Fire Department offers the following holiday safety tips to residents this season:

Holiday Decorating

• Be careful with holiday decorations. Choose decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.

• Keep lit candles away from decorations and other things that can burn.

• Use lights that have the label of an independent testing laboratory. Some lights are only for indoor or outdoor use, not both.

• Replace any strings of lights with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections. Connect no more than three strands of mini light sets and a maximum of 50 bulbs for screw-in bulbs.

• Use clips, not nails, to hang lights so the cords do not get damaged.

• Keep decorations away from windows and doors.

Holiday Entertaining

• Test your smoke alarms and tell guests about your home fire escape plan.

• Keep children and pets away from lit candles.

• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet.

• Stay in the kitchen when cooking on the stovetop.

• Ask smokers to smoke outside. Remind smokers to keep their smoking materials with them so young children do not touch them.

• Provide large, deep ashtrays for smokers. Wet cigarette butts with water before discarding.