Lakeshore Advance, 2013-12-18, Page 2020 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, December 18, 2013
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Bluewater C(1;ist Public; School
Keeping safe during the holidays
The holidays can be a
hectic time of the year
with parties and shop-
ping and all the prepara-
tions. While you're busy
enjoying the holidays,
you'll want to think about
taking a few safety pre-
cautions at home --
house fires are often
more prevalent during
the holidays, as are thefts
and break-ins. RSA Can-
ada, one of the country's
biggest hone, car and
business insurers, rec-
ommends taking a few
precautions now to
ensure you enjoy the hol-
iday season.
Christmas tree safety:
Buy the freshest, green-
est tree you can buy: a
dried out Christmas tree
can become engulfed in
flames in Tess than 30
seconds. To test for fresh-
ness, you can try
bouncing the trunk
against the ground. If a
lot of needles fall off, the
tree is dried out. Once
you've got your tree,
make sure to water it reg-
ularly to keep it fresh.
You'll also want to make
sure you secure the tree
so it doesn't tip over and
damage your floors or the
ceiling of rooms below.
Follow the manufactur-
ers' instructions with
lights and ornaments,
and don't string more
than 3 sets of lights
together.
Preventing theft:
Instances of theft tend
to increase during the
holidays when people
have their cars loaded
with gifts. When shop-
ping, be wary of taking
loads of parcels to your
car and returning to the
mall. Watch your
surroundings, and hide
parcels either in the trunk
or under a blanket. Once
you get your gifts home,
keep them out of sight in
a closet or elsewhere.
Also, be careful when dis-
posing of the boxes from
big ticket items, like TVs
and computers. Don't set
hoxes out on the curb -
it's an advertisement to
thieves. Break boxes
down and bury them
inside your recycling bin.
If you do buy an expen-
sive piece of jewelry,
technology or art, talk to
your insurance broker to
make sure you're cov-
ered. This holiday sea-
son, make sure you've
taken all the preparations
and for more information
on what you can do to
protect yourself, talk to
your insurance broker.
www.newscanatia.com
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