Tips For a Safe Whitefish Bay Christmas

The holidays are a time for family, reflection and brightened spirits, so it can be easy to let your guard down when it comes to protecting your home from safety hazards and intruders.

To help you stay safe this holiday season, Whitefish Bay Police Sergeant Beth Formella and North Shore firefighter Daniel Tyk helped Patch assemble a list of safety tips to make the holiday experience more enjoyable. 

In the throes of large family gatherings and time away from home, Formella distilled her police safety concerns down to a few basics.

Keep valuables out of plain view

Leaving valuables in cars during the holidays is not a good idea, especially if it includes purses, cameras or laptops. Too many people do their shopping and park their car in a lot with many gifts and things inside, in plain view.

Whitefish Bay Police Department recommends you lock everything up, and if possible, cover up those items. Using a blanket or some way of pulling a protective shade over their gifts would prevent your car from being broken into. This is a problem at all times of the year, but particularly during the holidays.

Be aware of your surroundings

For sake of example, if you’ve come from an ATM or if they’re in an area that’s kind of isolated, the darkness of a neighborhood late a night can create new dangers. After dark, people should make sure no one follows them. It doesn’t matter where they are, really – parking their car, or whatever the activity, the holiday season has consistently shown an uptick in robberies, according to Formella.

If you’re not aware of your surroundings, you can make yourself vulnerable to criminals in any neighborhood. Criminals like areas where there are not a lot of witnesses. They also perk up to people who have just gone to the bank and gotten some cash to do some shopping.

Leave a light on

In addition to locking things up, police encourage people to leave a light on when gone for several hours or more, as well as for short trips, depending on the time of day. The department also suggests turning a TV or radio on, especially if they plan to lose track of time at a party or otherwise. Petty theft tends to increase around this time of year, so it’s always good to be around lots of people, and not to park in a secluded area if you can help it.

Being Careful With Fire

Police departments notice trends with holiday-related incidents, and so do fire departments. The village’s participation in the nationwide “Keep the Wreath Red” program, initiated by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association in 1980, is designed to “focus on awareness of safety while decorating our homes over the holidays”.

The premise is simple: firehouses place a wreath on their front doors and illuminate it with a string of red lights. The wreath stays lit all day long throughout the holiday season, and whenever a fire occurs that is a result of holiday decorations, a white bulb replaces a red bulb on the wreath. The goal is to keep the wreath red.

Anyone who’s seen "Home Alone" could probably think of fire safety precautions, but when celebrating with family and friends, there’s a tendency to light menorahs, candles at the dinner table or the Christmas tree in the living room and walk away from it. According to the National Fire Protection Agency, between 2005 and 2009, more than 12,500 fires occurred as a result of candles. These fires resulted in 136 civilian deaths, and an estimated $471 million dollars in property damage.

By this time in the holiday season, Christmas trees and other decorations begin to dry out, and people don’t stay on top of watering and maintenance because they’re out of town or just plain busy. Oddly enough, according to the NFPA, Christmas tree fires account for more than 200 residential structure fires every year. 

All it takes is one light in the string of lights to short out, or one frayed wire, before the Christmas tree goes up in flames. For this reason, firefighters discourage extension cords as permanent wiring, so as to not create physical or electrical hazards.

“At this time of year, we usually see an increased risk of fires,” said Tyk. “Bigger gatherings means bigger meals, and although we see some cooking fires, they don’t compare to other kinds of damage.”

Use flameless lighting when possible

Between 2004 and 2008, a study found that more than 25 percent of all home decoration fires occurred during the month of December, according to the NFPA. With extra family and friends around for the holidays, there is an increased risk of someone accidentally bumping into candles and knocking them over. Using flameless battery operated candles greatly reduces the risk for burns or fire. 

Be careful using timers

Especially for outdoor lights, many people today use timers – the tree or lights will turn on at a certain point, and if they’re out of town, this is not being monitored. Eventually the light shorts out and starts a fire when no one is home. The department would like people to move away from the use of flame candles for similar reasons, as they provide the same look and effect without the same danger.