How do you keep your home safe from fire and carbon monoxide this holiday season? Start with working smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, then cover the habits behind the season's biggest risks: stay with the stove on Thanksgiving, give space heaters three feet of clearance, charge lithium-ion batteries with the right charger, keep the tree watered and the lights in good shape, and make sure everyone knows two ways out. Here's the checklist, with the sources behind it.
This article is general safety information. In a fire, get out and call 911.
1. Start With Working Smoke Alarms
Clocks went back on Nov. 1. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) notes that the clock change isn't an official alarm rule, just a handy reminder (NFPA). If you skipped it, check your alarms before the holidays fill the house.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) recommends (USFA: Smoke Alarms):
- Test every alarm monthly with the test button.
- Replace batteries at least once a year in alarms with replaceable batteries. If a sealed 10-year alarm chirps for low battery, NFPA says to replace the whole alarm right away.
- Replace the entire alarm every 10 years.
- Put alarms where people sleep: inside each bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level, including the basement.
- Never take the battery out, even when cooking smoke or shower steam sets it off.
2. Carbon Monoxide: Alarms and Fuel-Burning Gear
The CDC calls carbon monoxide "an odorless, colorless gas," so an alarm is your warning. It advises installing battery-operated or battery back-up CO detectors near every sleeping area, checking their batteries when you change the clocks each spring and fall, and replacing them per the manufacturer's instructions or every 5 years (CDC: Carbon Monoxide Basics). NFPA adds: test CO alarms at least once a month.
Winter brings out fuel-burning gear, especially during an outage. The CDC is direct:
- Never use a generator inside your home or garage, even if doors and windows are open. Run it outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents.
- Never burn charcoal indoors, and never use a portable gas camp stove indoors.
- Never heat your house with a gas oven.
- Never run a car or truck inside a garage attached to the house, even with the garage door open.
If a storm knocks out your power, our winter power outage safety guide covers generators, food, frozen pipes and stored water step by step.
If the CO alarm sounds, NFPA says to move to fresh air right away (outdoors, or by an open window or door), make sure everyone is accounted for, and call for help from the fresh-air location. Stay there until emergency crews arrive (NFPA: Carbon Monoxide).
3. Thanksgiving: Stay With the Stove
According to NFPA, Thanksgiving is the peak day of the year for home cooking fires, with more than three times the daily average, and unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing factor (NFPA: Thanksgiving safety).
- Stay in the kitchen while you're frying, grilling, boiling or broiling.
- Check the turkey often, and stay home while it roasts.
- Clear the stovetop of oven mitts, towels, food packaging and wooden utensils.
- Keep kids at least three feet from the stove, and don't let appliance cords dangle within their reach.
If a pan catches fire, slide a lid over it and turn off the burner, then leave it covered until it cools. Never throw water on a grease fire. If the fire doesn't go out, get everyone out, close the door behind you and call 911 from outside (NFPA: Cooking safety).
NFPA also strongly discourages turkey fryers that use cooking oil. Its suggestion: buy a fried turkey from a grocery store or restaurant, or use a fryer that doesn't use oil.
4. Give Space Heaters Space
Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from a portable heater, and set it on a solid, flat surface (USFA: Heater fire safety).
- Wall outlet only. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says to plug heaters directly into the wall, never into an extension cord or power strip, and not to run the cord under rugs (CPSC: Portable heater safety habits).
- Hot plug? If the cord, plug or outlet gets hot, unplug it and have it checked.
- Off when you leave or sleep. Turn heaters off when you leave the room or go to bed (NFPA: Heating safety).
- Choose carefully. Look for a heater tested by a recognized testing laboratory, with automatic shut-off if it tips over.
5. Charge Lithium-Ion Batteries With Care
Holiday gifts add more lithium-ion batteries to the house. Here are NFPA's everyday habits for them (NFPA: Lithium-ion batteries):
- Use the charging equipment supplied with your device, and buy batteries listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory. CPSC warns that "universal" chargers for e-bikes and scooters may fit but still be incompatible (CPSC).
- Stop charging a battery once it's full.
- For e-bikes and scooters, NFPA says the safest place to charge is outdoors, away from any structure and out of direct sunlight. Never store batteries where they block the only way out of a room.
- Stop using a device if the battery shows an unusual odor, excessive heat, popping sounds, swelling or a change in color.
- Don't put lithium-ion batteries in the trash or recycling bin. Take them to a separate recycling or household hazardous waste collection point.
6. A Safer Tree and Lights
NFPA says Christmas tree fires aren't common, but when they happen they're more likely to be serious. Nearly half of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical problems, and one in four by a heat source too close to the tree (NFPA tree tip sheet).
- Pick a fresh tree and water it every day. USFA warns that a dry tree can burn very hot and very fast (USFA: Holiday fire safety).
- Keep it at least three feet from fireplaces, radiators, space heaters, candles and heat vents, and make sure it doesn't block an exit.
- Use listed lights from a qualified testing laboratory, replace strands with worn or broken cords or loose bulb connections, and turn them off before you leave home or go to bed. Never decorate with lit candles.
- Get rid of it after Christmas or as soon as it's dry. Don't leave it in the home, the garage or against the house; check for a community recycling program.
7. Make (and Practice) a Home Escape Plan
NFPA warns that once the smoke alarm sounds, a fire can leave you as little as one or two minutes to get out. A practiced plan makes those minutes count (NFPA: Escape planning).
- Draw a floor plan with two ways out of every room, windows included, and make sure doors and windows open easily.
- Assign a helper for infants, older adults or anyone with limited mobility, plus a backup.
- Pick a meeting place outside, a safe distance in front of the home: a neighbor's house, a light post, a mailbox or a stop sign. Make sure your house number is visible from the street.
- Get out and stay out. Close doors behind you, never go back inside, and call 911 from outside. Tell the dispatcher if anyone is missing.
- Practice twice a year. Practice getting low and going under the smoke, hold a night drill once kids know the plan, and assign someone to wake anyone who sleeps through the alarm.
With family visiting, walk guests through the exits and the meeting place too.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I replace smoke and CO alarms?
USFA says to replace smoke alarms every 10 years. The CDC says to replace CO detectors following the manufacturer's instructions or every 5 years. Test both monthly.
What should I do if a pan catches fire?
Slide a lid over the pan, turn off the burner and leave it covered until it cools. Never use water on a grease fire. If it doesn't go out, get everyone out, close the door and call 911 from outside.
Is it safe to run a generator in the garage with the door open?
No. The CDC says never to use a generator inside your home or garage, even if doors and windows are open. Run it outdoors, more than 20 feet from windows, doors and vents.
Gear for a Safer Home This Winter
A flashlight by the bed, a charged power bank and a stocked first aid kit help in an outage or a night evacuation. Browse our lights, batteries, packs and chargers, first aid kits and emergency gear, and read Pillar 1: Shelter.
