Stay Safe While Holiday Decorating and Entertaining - Safety Tips from Double A Safety

This month, Double A Safety Services brings us some thoughts on keeping yourself and your loved ones safe over the holiday season.

Halloween has come and gone, and the holiday season is fast approaching and Remembrance Day will be next week. With this in mind The Royal Canadian Legion has respectfully requested that people refrain from starting their Christmas Decorating until after Nov. 11, in respect of our veterans past and present.  This request not only spurred us to respect it, but also to look into some holiday safety tips around the home and well enjoying the festivity events throughout the season.

If you are decorating your rooftop, ensure you:

• Stay away from Power lines.
• Don’t trust your “elves” to hold the ladder for you. Little ones are easily distracted. Always use the buddy system with another adult when putting up your decorations. Falling from roofs/ladders has ruined many a holiday season. Does inflatable Santa or those lights really need to go up there? Have a plan on how you're going to get up and more importantly stay up there (The ladder has solid footing, is at a 4:1 ratio and secured once in place, is there a form of fall prevention needed? etc) while you're installing your lights and decorations.
• Ensure you have the right power cords for your connections (are they weather proof? Can they hold the load?). You don’t want to short or overload your electrical system
• Outdoor lights are for outdoors, inside lights are for inside. Inside Christmas lights are not meant to last through the snow and rain.
• Watch out for Chip and Dale and other critters who may have taken up residence in your attic/roof system. You don’t want to fall 20 feet because they scared the daylights out of you.
• Secure the decorations you are putting on display, this will protect your family and neighbors as well as your property from damage that may be caused from a sudden gust of wind sending your Santa, Santa’s helpers, reindeer and sleigh flying.

Will you be hosting a gathering this year? If so here are some good tips on holiday hosting:

• Know your guests – it is much easier to track the changes in behaviour of those you know. Inviting strangers increases the risk.
• Serve lots of food that has protein and fat – salt encourages more drinking, and sugar does not mix well with alcohol.
• Have plenty of non-alcoholic choices along with the spirited beverages. Serve a festive fruit punch or "mocktail" clearly labeled alcohol-free, along with other non-alcoholic juices, sodas and water.
• Greet all guests on arrival and departure, taking the opportunity to assess their condition.
• If a guest appears to be impaired, encourage him or her to give you their car keys. Buddy up with a friend to persuade the intoxicated person to take a cab, or stay the night.
• Keep the phone numbers of cab companies handy and cash on hand for cab fares (in Campbell River: 250.287.8294 / 287.TAXI and  250-287 8383 for Bee Line Taxi. On Quadra Island: 250 205 0505. In the Comox Valley: 250-339-7955)  Tell the guest that a cab has been ordered. Don’t give the option to refuse.
• Only time will sober the person, not more fluids or food. Offering a spare bed is a good recourse.
• If the person refuses to hand over the car keys or spend the night at your house, call the police. It may seem drastic, but it is far better than tragic consequences.As a social host, you should be concerned about your guests consuming too much alcohol, and then getting behind the wheel. The law may even find you liable for any damage your guests cause on the way home.

The holidays are to be enjoyed by all, let’s all do our best to have a happy holiday season.

For more information about keeping you and your employees safe on the job site, contact Double A Safety Services.