Keep safety at top of your holiday decorating list

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 14,700 holiday decorating-related emergency room visits in 2016, which is an average of about 240 injuries per day during this festive holiday season.

The most frequent holiday decorating incidents involved falls (41%), lacerations (10%) and back strains (5%).

The good news for apartment dwellers — you can’t “go all Clark Griswold” on your building’s roof even if you wanted to — it’s prohibited in your lease.

Still, here are some safety tips for holiday decorating inside your apartment this season.

Christmas tree: If you’re buying a live tree, get a fresh one — green and springy with needles that are hard to pull away from their branches. If you bend a limb, it doesn’t easily break.

Get a fresh cut on the trunk — most sellers are happy to do that for you, and put it in a stand with water immediately. Keep your tree away from heat sources such as fireplaces stoves.

Try to place it where a heating/air conditioning vent isn’t blowing directly on it to keep it from drying out as quickly. If you’re buying an artificial tree, look for a label that says “fire resistant.”

Candles: Don’t use real candles — they’re a leading cause of holiday fires, and they’re probably prohibited in your apartment lease agreement. Good, inexpensive electric candles that flicker like real ones are easy to find.

Fireplaces: More and more apartment communities feature fireplaces. Make sure you know how to open the flue, and that it’s open before you start a fire. Never leave your apartment with a fire burning.

Avoid chemical “logs,” and don’t burn gift wrapping paper, which is often infused with chemicals that can ignite suddenly and burn intensely.

Fire extinguisher and smoke alarm: Every apartment is equipped with a multi-use fire extinguisher and at least one smoke alarm. Make sure you and all your roommates and family know where they are and how they work.

This article was provided by the Houston Apartment Association. For more information, visit www.haaonline.org.