Preventing holiday accidents using Twitter

Watching a decorated tree catch fire or falling from a ladder while hanging holiday lights all sound like scenes from a bad Christmas movie. But, as temperatures drop people tend to spend more time at home and real holiday disasters can happen in an instant.

In an effort to prevent holiday accidents, the hashtag #12DaysofChristmas is trending on Twitter thanks to the Ontario Fire Marshal and municipalities across the province. Windsor Fire and Rescue is also taking part in the provincial wide campaign to prevent accidents this holiday season.

Chief Fire Prevention Officer at Windsor Fire & Rescue Services, John Lee, hopes these daily reminders on Twitter will keep people safe over the holidays.

“One of the messages is about keeping your tree hydrated so it won’t dry out and catch on fire.”

Today is the first day of the campaign. Lee says by using social media he hopes the message will reach a larger audience and the message will be received daily.

“It’s the 12 days leading up to Christmas, like the song,” said Lee. “Every day there will be a different fire safety message.”

The Canada Safety Council is also recommending some tips through their website to help people stay safe over the holidays. According to the CSC, the most important is thing to pay attention to is food handling since eating is major part of this holiday season.

The #12daysofChristmas campaign is being supported by the Fire Safety Council through the office of the Ontario Fire Marshal. Check Windsor Fire and Rescue’s Twitter page @WindsorFire1 for the daily safety tips.