Keep the Holidays Jolly by Putting Safety Atop Your To-Do List

12/04/2017

Contact

Kerri Case|501-377-4382|kcase@entergy.com

Little Rock, Ark. – Most of us don’t think of putting safety on the Christmas list each year. But too many preventable accidents happen while families are celebrating the holidays. Entergy Arkansas put together a safety list to keep your season merry and bright.

INDOORS

Is your tree live? If so, make sure it is fresh and green with needles that are hard to pull from the branches.
Place the tree in a stand with water, well away from heaters or the fireplace, and check the water daily.
Before putting lights on the tree or using them in other home decorations, examine them carefully. Do they have frayed wiring or loose sockets? Throw them out! Make sure any you keep or replace have been tested for safety by an independent testing laboratory.
Make sure all light sockets have bulbs in them. Children are fascinated by lights and could put their fingers in empty sockets.
Do not let bulbs touch tree branches. Never burn candles on or near the tree and never use flammable decorations.
Never use lights on a metallic tree. If the lights become faulty, the entire tree could be electrified.
Be careful not to overload extension cords, outlets or even whole circuits in the house.
For optimum safety as well as energy efficiency, use smaller, cool-burning LED lights.
Place wires where they cannot trip anyone. Do not run them under rugs.
Turn off decorative lighting when you leave the room.

OUTDOORS

Make sure the lights used are specifically designated for outdoor use and the cords are not worn or frayed.
Use a non-conducting fiberglass or wooden ladder when working with strings of lights, and stay clear of all overhead wires.
Turn the electricity off before replacing bulbs.
Never let light bulbs touch flammable materials such as plastic or dry grass and leaves.
For outside use, work only with three-wire grounded extension cords.
Use rubber gaskets in light sockets or hang sockets downward to keep water out.
Keep connections and lights off the ground by hanging them over wooden stakes.

Entergy Arkansas provides electricity to approximately 700,000 customers in 63 counties. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $10.8 billion and more than 13,000 employees.

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