With Thanksgiving behind us now, many Iowans are turning their thoughts to decorating their houses for the holiday season ahead. Andrea Vastis serves as the Public Education Director for the National Fire Protection Association, says those colorful lights can be a beautiful accent to your home, but they can also pose a serious fire hazard.
Putting lights outside that are supposed to be for indoor use only could quickly lead to an electrical short — and a fire. If you’re trying to obtain a Clark Griswold-level of outdoor decoration perfection, she warns, it can be easy to overdo it.
Some newer LED-style lights allow you to connect a few dozen strings of lights and plug them into just one outlet, but she says to read the labeling very carefully. For many Iowans, it’s simply not the holidays if the fragrance of fresh pine isn’t wafting throughout the house, but if you have a “real” tree, it’s important that your electric lights are safe.
An association study finds electrical distribution or lighting equipment was involved in more than 44% of home Christmas tree fires.
