Volume 3   Issue  37                      December   2004

                     

Ladders are Often a Holiday Decorator's Downfall
By Charles Homans, Knight Ridder News, December 10, 2004

Holiday home decorators would be wise to save the eggnog until the lights are up and the ladders are safely stowed. More than 5,800 Americans injure themselves in falls while decorating their homes every holiday season, according to a report issued Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"Around the holidays, we tend to get tired and distracted, and there's often a little 'holiday cheer' involved," said Meri-K Appy, the president of the Washington-based Home Safety Council. Young and middle-age men make up the bulk of the Christmas casualties, who hobble into emergency rooms around the country at an average rate of more than two per hour from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31, according to CDC statistics. Falls from ladders cause 43 percent of the injuries; falls from roofs cause 13 percent. "I've treated people who've broken wrists or broken legs falling off of various heights while stringing up holiday lights, decorating Christmas trees, that sort of thing," said Dr. Ralph Riviello, an attending emergency-medicine physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Decorating accidents make up only a tiny fraction of the 1.9 million fall-related injuries annually. But those who have them over the holidays tend to be younger, and about one in 10 of them end up in hospitals.

Fires started by candles also tend to peak around the holiday season. The National Fire Prevention Association, which keeps track of such things, discovered a trifecta in 1999, when the three worst days for candle fires nationwide were Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

To avoid holiday downfalls, consider these tips from the Home Safety Council:

  • Follow the 4-to-1 rule for extension ladders. If you are 4 feet up the ladder, the base should be 1 foot out from the wall. If you're 8 feet up, pull it out 2 feet, and so on.
  • Stay centered when you're on a ladder. Watch your belt buckle: If it passes beyond the ladder rail, you're leaning out too far.
  • Your feet shouldn't be above the fourth rung from the top of an extension ladder or the second rung from the top of a stepladder.
  • A Christmas tree is a match waiting to be lit. Keep lit candles at least 3 feet from the tree, evergreen decorations and other holiday flammables, such as wrapping paper.
  • When lighting your home or tree, don't string more than three sets of lights together and don't overload outlets or extension cords.
  • Make sure electrical cords aren't in high traffic areas or near the Christmas tree's water, and don't tuck them under rugs or tree skirts.
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