Fire Safety Best Practices for the Holidays
What needs attention
- Temporary festival lighting can overload poor connections and hide damaged conductors among decorations
- A diya or candle needs separation from curtains, garlands, paper, clothing and paths where it can be knocked over
- Unattended cooking remains a more common home ignition problem than dramatic fireworks footage suggests
- Crowds and stored gifts or packaging can obstruct an exit that was normally clear
- Sparklers and spent fireworks remain hot enough to cause burns or ignite waste
- Failed fireworks can discharge late and must not be approached or relit immediately
- Two Hindi news videos document real 2025 Diwali fires but do not establish nationwide incident totals
Controls that reduce risk
- Walk every escape route and remove cartons, footwear, decorations and furniture
- Test smoke alarms and place 112 and the complete address where guests can see them
- Discard damaged light strings and follow manufacturer connection limits
- Use stable non-combustible diya and candle holders away from fabric and drafts
- Keep a lid beside cooking pans and never leave hot oil unattended
- Assign one sober adult to supervise children and any permitted fireworks
- Keep water available outdoors and isolate unused fireworks from ignition
- Plan care and an exit for older people, children, disabled guests and pets
Understand and apply the guidance
Celebrate Safely this Holiday Season
With the holidays coming up soon, it’s important to be aware of fire safety so that you and your family can enjoy the season in a safe way. During the holiday season, it’s important to be careful with decorations, cooking, and other things that could start fires.
Decorating with Fire Safety in Mind
Christmas trees and other holiday decorations can be pretty to look at, but they need to be used safely. Some tips for decorating for the holidays are:
- Choose decorations that are flame-resistant or flame-retardant;
- keep lit candles away from decorations;
- turn off all string lights before going to bed;
- blow out lit candles before going to bed or leaving the room;
- make sure Christmas trees are at least three feet away from any heat source;
- Regularly water your Christmas tree.
- Replace any string of lights with worn or broken cords or loose connections between bulbs.
Prevent Holiday Cooking Fires
Most home fires and burns happen when people are cooking. These safety tips will help you stay safe while cooking for the holidays:
- Stay in the kitchen while frying, boiling, or broiling food.
- Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop.
- Use a timer to remind yourself that food is cooking.
- Don’t use the stovetop if you are sleepy or have been drinking.
Fireplace Safety
Gathering around the fireplace during the winter holidays can be a nice way to warm up. Here are some safe ways to use a fireplace:
- Keep things that can burn at least three feet away from the fire.
- Use a fire screen to keep embers from escaping.
- Make sure all embers are out before you go to bed.
- Have your fireplace or wood stove inspected before you use it.
Test Smoke Detectors & Know Fire Escape Plan
Before you have people over for the holidays, you should make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors work. Replace the batteries if they are dead. Make sure your guests know how to get out of your house in case of a fire. This way, they will know what to do if something goes wrong.
Common unsafe practices
- Running many light strings through one multi-plug adaptor or using damaged extension leads
- Taping wiring under rugs, doors or combustible decorations
- Leaving diyas, candles, agarbatti or cooking unattended
- Wearing loose synthetic clothing near flame, hot oil or fireworks
- Storing fireworks near a puja flame, kitchen, stair or exit
- Lighting fireworks indoors, in containers, while holding them or near buildings and vehicles
- Relighting or immediately approaching a failed firework
- Using water on burning cooking oil or energised electrical equipment
- Applying ice, toothpaste, butter, oil or cream to a fresh burn