auid be careful:

ONE of the more
beautiful holiday tradi-
tions is the use of
lighting to decorate the
inside and outside of
our homes.

Christmas lights adorning
the outside of homes add a
sense of magic to this special
season. With new products
and ideas, it’s now easier than

ever to transform any housc

into an excidng showcase of
colours and decorations.

‘The Electrical Contractors
Association of B.C. wants
everyone to have a sate holiday
season and hay put together
the following checklist of safe-
ty tips to make sure holiday
lighting is done safel
B Aiways buy lights that have
been approved by 3 recog:

“nized testing agency, and

never use indoor fights out-

_ side.

Be sure to. carefully check
each strand. of lights tor bro-

"ken or cracked sockets, frayed

or bare wires, or loose connec:

ions, and discard damaged

sets: Also, make sure rhat’
bulbs are not loose or cracked.

Do not leave any. sockets
“empty.

Always unplug the lights _
\ before replacing bulbs or fuses.

@ Wever shorten, lengthen or
splice strings of — lights.
Connect only similar kinds of
strings together, (never con-
nect standard-sized lights to a
midget light set), otherwise
you will overload yaur fuse.
Use no more than three
standard-size sets of lights per
single extension cord. Putting
too many strands together can
overheat and cause a fire; over-
loaded circuits can blow fuses
and trip circuit breakers.

@ Fasten outdoor lights secure-
ly to trees, house wails or other
firm supports to protect the
lights from wind damage. You
should use only insulated sta-
ples to hold strings in place, not
nails or tacks which cut into

wires as these can create shocks, -

and other » hazard
Alternatively, ran the strings
fights through heoks.
® Be sure to be very carefil
when putting your lights on
the house. Put them up fro
below, using a non-metallic

ladder to prevent clectric -

shocks. Stay off the oof to
avoid fills and starting leaks.”
Make sure the lights do not
touch combustible materials.

& Do not ‘overload clectrical
circuits, such as: wall. outiers

and extension cords, ‘When in:
: doubr, i

se 2 circuit strip. F

added clectric shock protec-
tion, plug outdoor cfectric
lights and decorations into cir-
cuits protected by ground fault
circuit interrupters (GFCIs).
Portable outdoor GFCIs can .
be purchased where electrical
supplies are sofd, and can be
permanently installed — to
wusehold circuits by a quali-
fied electrician.
For indoor lighting, there

“are also some other safety, tips

to follow:

@ Be sure paper ornaments or
other tlammables do not touch
the hot bulbs. a

G Never use electric lights on a
metallic tree, as the tree can”
become charged with electrici-

ty from faulty lights:

@ As che bulbs on the light sets

-ean get very hot, be, sure.to
watch children carefully ‘s

they do not burn themselves.

@ Always turn off -your:
Christmas lights when you do
not need to have them on.
This can be done by putting,
the. lights’on (an. automatic
timer.-You should never leave

_your tree lights on overnight.’ :

The holiday: time pravides -

an. exellent. reason “to - bring

some light to the dark days of :

“« winter. Following these simple

precautions” can? help «make
your holidays safe