How to stay safe and avoid Christmas-related injuries
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Consumer Product Safety Commission says there are nearly 200 Christmas-related injuries every day during the holiday season and sometimes accidents can become deadly. Here are ways to keep safe this season.
The last thing you want for the holidays is an injury from decorating. Over the past five years, injuries caused by Christmas tree lights increased by 115%.
The holidays turned tragic in Quakertown last year. Early Christmas morning crews battled a two-story house fire.
A mother and one son escaped, but the father and two children who were trapped inside died.
Investigators believe a faulty electric star on top of a dry Christmas tree sparked the fire.
A Consumer Product Safety Commission demonstration shows just how dangerous a dry tree can be.
The video shows a tree that has been watered regularly. Thirty seconds after being lit, it just smolders.
The tree on the other side is dry. The flames spread quickly and in a matter of seconds, the room is engulfed in flames.
"Around Christmas, we see a lot of hazards associated with decorating," Alex Hoehn-Saric, chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said.
Hoehn-Saric says candles also pose a danger. In another demonstration, a misplaced candle on a menorah ignites the curtains.
Every year, thousands of people get hurt putting up decorations.
"We do see a lot of falls associated with ladders and people using them to put up decorations," Hoehn-Saric said.
There are 160 holiday-decorating injuries a day, according to the safety commission.
Experts say 41% are falls followed by lacerations and back strains.
Decorations need to be double-checked for defects. Lights shouldn't have any frayed wires or loose sockets making sure they don't can prevent a tragedy this holiday season.
If you have pets or children, experts say to make sure they're not going to be able to tug at the tree, lights or other decorations.
