Have a Safe, Healthy and Happy Christmas 2020

Each day throughout December the Service will be opening a door on its virtual Christmas Safety Advert Calendar, to reveal the top tips we should all follow to ensure we have a happy, healthy and safe Christmas.

You will be able to unlock the safety advice daily on the Service’s social media channels, where there will also be a festive safety themed competition, along with lots of fun worksheets for young children with some useful safety tips to keep them busy.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s Head of Community Safety, Karen Jones:

“There is no doubt that Christmas is going to be a little different this year and as we all prepare for the likelihood that we’ll be spending more time at home this festive period, it’s even more important that we remind ourselves of some basic safety advice to ensure we celebrating safely.

“Many of us have started our celebrations early this year and are going the extra mile with our Christmas decorations, adding more twinkly lights, powered Christmas decorations and candles to create a more of an atmosphere.  Extension leads or 4-way bar adapters are widely used this time of year for this purpose and even if there is space to plug in extra appliances, it doesn’t mean that it is safe to do so.  As different electrical appliances use different amounts of power, it could overheat and increase the risk of a fire. Candles can also increase the risk of fire in the home and while we will always discourage the use of candles, we understand that many people wish to use them for a variety of different reasons, whether as part of a religious or seasonal celebration, or simply to make their house smell nice. In these instances, we would urge you to be safe and keep candles away from soft furnishings, making sure they are fully extinguished when you leave the room and before you go to bed.

“As restrictions mean that we are likely to be dining in more than eating our this Christmas it is also important that we remain vigilant while cooking, as unfortunately the majority of kitchen fires result from being distracted, with falling asleep being a close second.  Add a few festive drinks into the mix and this could be a recipe for disaster, not only will your kitchen become smoke logged or damage your property, it could also cause serious damage, injury or harm.

“If you are out and about doing some last-minute Christmas shopping or dropping off presents for your friends and family, please take extra care when driving in wintery conditions, leave extra time for your journey and ensure you have full visibility before embarking on your journey.

“I would encourage you all to join us in opening our virtual Christmas Safety Advent Calendar in the run up to the big day and to follow our top safety tips to make sure you keep yourselves and your loved ones safety and healthy this Christmas”.

We also urge you all to continue to follow the Welsh Government guidelines during the festive period to ensure that you are keeping yourself, your family, your neighbours and the emergency services safe during this time.  For more information and Safety messages please go to our website www.mawwfire.gov.uk  or follow us on our Social Media channels Twitter – @mawwfire, Facebook – @mawwfire and Instagram –  mawwfire_rescue.