How to Avoid Ending Up Like a Christmas Movie Mishap

It’s that time of year again—twinkling lights, festive cheer, and the occasional holiday disaster straight out of a Christmas movie. In this episode, we unwrap the best safety tips to keep your celebrations merry, bright, and injury-free. From avoiding falls while setting up Griswold-level light displays to keeping your Christmas tree from turning into a fire hazard, we’ve got you covered.

We also touch on New Year’s Eve safety: how to celebrate responsibly, avoid drunk driving, and reaching out to check friends who might be struggling. (The holiday season can be hard!)

Whether it’s managing those dry Christmas trees, dealing with overzealous partygoers, or roasting that perfect prime rib, our advice will help you avoid becoming the star of your own holiday blooper reel.

So grab a cup of cocoa and your headphones and tune in for our winter holiday safety episode!

Life Safety Associates specializes in emergency response training for corporate ERT Teams. We help businesses create competent and confident first responders who are ready to handle unexpected emergencies. For more information you find us @lifesafetyassoc or email@lifesafety.com.

Chapters

• 0:00 Holiday Safety and Christmas Decorations
• 15:07 Holiday Party Planning Tips

Transcript

Jimmy: 0:23

What's happening? It's your boy, jimmy, and Megs with another Life and Safety podcast.

Megan: 0:30

So we have the next two weeks off here at Life Safety, so we're also going to take two weeks off of the podcast, but before we do, let's talk about what's happening. During those two weeks, we got Christmas and New Year's and any other holidays that you may or may not celebrate, but that's what we celebrate, so that's what we have knowledge about to talk about. See, that was what started off so well, and then I rambled I should have stopped well I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the colors that you're changing right now.

Jimmy: 0:59

It's really awesome and I wish our listeners can see that. Uh, so let's talk about. We're going to continue our series on holiday safety and christmas so, and then we'll talk about new year's. So christmas believe it or not, there's a lot of emotional emergencies happen all Christmas time.

Megan: 1:29

That tracks.

Jimmy: 1:31

And one of the hardest things as responders do is work on Christmas and around Christmas. Not only are they away from their families, but they just have to deal with just seeing people in their lowest points. So first off, I want to say just reach out to those people that you know that may or may not have some place to go on Christmas or might just be feeling lonely or overwhelmed or just unheard. Just reach out, do that buddy. Check it's never going to hurt and it could just be. Hey man, how are you today? How are things?

Jimmy: 2:14

just check it in something like that easy, easy peasy and that can mean the world to somebody, yeah, um, now let's talk about some of the dangers around the house and things like that that I've seen and been around. So, first off, we're not going to talk about kitchen stuff too much, because we talked about that during the Thanksgiving one with the cooking and stuff like that, and obviously a lot of people are cooking big, extravagant meals for Christmas.

Jimmy: 2:43

If that's what you choose to do, awesome. It sounds like I'm going to be cooking a prime rib. I was voluntold to cook a prime rib for Christmas.

Megan: 2:54

So I hear I'm having dinner at your place on Christmas. Absolutely.

Jimmy: 2:57

Thanks for the invitation. If you want to show up, I think I'm going to make a herb-crusted, herb-and-butter-crusted, just wrapped prime rib. I think I'm going to stick that in my smoker and smoke that for a little bit.

Megan: 3:12

Fancy.

Jimmy: 3:13

Yeah, I like to get experimental with that kind of stuff.

Jimmy: 3:16

So, we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. We'll let you know. Now let's talk about the outside stuff first Ladders Hanging lights, hanging lights, hanging lights. So not only are we on ladders hanging lights, but we're also on ladders getting stuff out of the rafters, out of the attic, wherever you store your Christmas stuff. That's the worst, just figuring out how to store all your Christmas decorations and your whatnots. So years ago, when the kids were little and I mean like under 10, we had a big fake Christmas tree. It was a big heavy metal, aluminum Christmas tree that my parents had bought and it was just a monster, beautiful tree tree, like seven feet tall. Just, it was really cool tree, so heavy, though it was like it was over 100 pounds and it's just.

Jimmy: 4:24

You know, it was long and just awkward to carry. It was really bad. So when I was you know me, being the only adult in the house I can kind of lift that kind of stuff, move that stuff. I used to have to stand it up and then kind of use the elevate the um ladder as like a shim and kind of slide it up and every rung and then get it into the rafters of our attic and push it. In One year I was doing it and I pushed it and I didn't really check the ladder very well. I just kind of assumed that I was mad and I just kind of was doing it. I just had to like psych myself up, if you will, and I put it up there. But when I got it up the ladder actually bent because the lock wasn't locked out.

Megan: 5:09

It was an.

Jimmy: 5:10

A-frame ladder and those cross beams that are on the A-frame ladder. That makes it an A weren't all the way and it bent the leg of the ladder.

Jimmy: 5:23

Oh, my God, and it fell, the ladder fell, the Christmas tree stayed up there, but for my firefighting days, right, we're kind of trained, I guess you know hold yourself up, catch yourself. So I was holding myself up on the rafters. So Jenny and the kids came running in like what the heck, what's that? What happened? Are you okay? And I'm hanging from the rafters like Batman. I'm okay, can you move that out of the way so I can fall? And then Jenny just dragged the ladder out of the way and I fell and I came out, but I was okay. I tell this story because, looking at the ladder, I realized that I exceeded the maximum weight limit for the ladder by myself, and more so with this really heavy Christmas tree. So the ladder just couldn't hold. So on the side of your ladders there's a working load and that's how much you can weigh plus how much you're carrying and lifting and moving on the ladder. So just be conscious of it. Be conscious of it.

Megan: 6:28

And also um check your ladders. Make sure they're locked out, make sure they're, if you're leaning, that they're on a solid surface.

Jimmy: 6:35

Yes, yes, which I'm going to get into next for sure. So, those sides of your ladders, your labels, make sure you can read them, as you know what you can lift, what you can lift right. Um, those little giant ladders. They call them little giant ladders and they have, like the, a frame on the bottom. They fold all transformery and they slide in and out and they lock up. A lot of people sell them and a lot of people like them.

Jimmy: 6:57

I think they're the scariest, worst ladder in the world because the way they bend and bold and bounce. Um, so I'm not a big fan, but a lot of people use them because they're easy to store and they're light and I get it. I totally understand why people have them, just not for me. So, with that being said, make sure your feet of the ladders are on dry level surface Right, so they don't slide, and when you put your ladder up the top of it, try not to put them on your rain gutters or on windows because you don't want to fall through the window or bend your rain gutter and have it twist on you and fall.

Jimmy: 7:42

so there's some of those things to look out for, like, like Megan mentioned, make sure your feet so sometimes extension ladders, the bottom rubber part. The feet will slide in and out or flip up and down, so make sure that hard, solid piece is down.

Megan: 7:58

Yeah.

Jimmy: 7:59

Right, so those are just some of those things. Make sure the rungs or the ladders, steps are in good shape, Make sure they're not bent. Or you know, maybe they're sitting outside. Your ladders are sitting outside and they're an old fiberglass ladder and it's getting a little bit frayed or sun-beaten and stuff like that, and you know we don't want it to weaken while you're on it. So those are some of those things.

Megan: 8:30

Speaking of decorations, you know the old I don't know if it's a wives tale, but one of the stories that I hear all the time is, like you know, having a house that's I don't want to say too decorated, but that has lots of decorations on it and lots of lights, all you know. All extension corded into the same outlet, speaking like fire hazards, and then with the other decorations in the house, or the christmas tree we've talked about that being a big flaming incendiary something. Other words are difficult. How about you?

Jimmy: 9:00

talk. Good talk makes glad you're contributing today. Yeah so, overloading your extension cords, overloading your outlets you know there's a reason why there's one outlet right. Um, now, if you're going to use a splitter so for instance, I have a three to one in our front yard for our things. So that means I can put three things into one outlet. But that splitter actually has a little device in it that if one of the things overheats it'll shut itself off. It's ground fault indicator. And then if you have extension cords outside, make sure they're rated to be outside. They're designed to be outside. Don't just grab any willy-nilly extension cord and just stick it out outside because it may not be rated for that. When I mean by rated, it might not be set up to be used outside and it might short circuit, circuit things of that nature. So just be real careful with that same thing with your lights.

Jimmy: 10:20

Make sure your lights are outside lights they're not inside lights that you use outside, because those can short circuit. Um, you know, led lights nowadays that's most people have. They're fairly safe, but electricity is electricity, you know. It just may not be as much electricity, um, now the other big one is your tree. Uh, megan was talking about, you know, especially with lights old school incandescent lights they used to get really hot.

Jimmy: 10:48

Um, some people like to decorate their trees with candles. In certain cultures they'll melt, uh, wax onto the tree. Then they'll actually stick a candle on it. It's very pretty, it's very beautiful, but people forget to water the tree and the tree dries out and then now it's just a incendiary device, as megan said. Um, and it's just to create fuel and be a big deal. So make sure you water your tree and try to keep your animals out of your tree, because you know, if anybody's seen Christmas Vacation and something you know rodent or something falls in or out of the tree and the tree falls over, breaks the light, especially old ones, you know that's a another hazard. So, outside lights, um, ladders inside trees, make sure your lights are, you know, okay, make sure they're, you know, all set up to the right things, they're not overloading circuits. Yeah, I guess that's it team we're not going to talk about. You know, fuel or food stuff burns, cuts, things like that. We've talked about that stuff in the thanksgiving podcast.

Megan: 11:59

Good so that's it for christmas. What about new year's?

Jimmy: 12:02

yeah, so that's it for christmas. I'm glad you brought new years up. I was actually forgetting. I actually forgot. So new year's, um, some of the big issues with new year's is obviously drunk driving. Find someplace, stay someplace To read the billboard buzz driving is drunk driving. It's obviously not a total laughing matter, but just be kind of silly and read the billboard Again. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Emotional support is going to be a big one.

Jimmy: 12:39

Find someplace. If you're going to find someplace, try to make plans to stay over the night. Make plans to have somebody pick you up. Uber, uber, lyft All those are great services. You're out celebrating New Year's. You might as well splurge a little bit and get an Uber, Take care of yourself Right, or a hotel room If you're fortunate enough to do that. Definitely stay someplace.

Megan: 13:06

Hangovers yes, in between the hangover and the drinking recovery position. Yes, I had to stick one of my friends in a recovery position a week or so ago.

Jimmy: 13:18

Yeah yeah, the friend was having too much fun A little bit yep, A little bit too much fun.

Megan: 13:34

So we just, you know, trash bag under her and then in the recovery position so that if and when she were to vomit during the sleep, that she does not breathe it in and then asphyxiate and die or choke or get it in her lungs and get pneumonia and then die from that. So you know.

Jimmy: 13:41

Or the stomach acid eating her lining.

Megan: 13:44

Also not a good thing.

Jimmy: 13:46

Right, all bad stuff.

Megan: 13:47

Yeah, you don't know the recovery position. You lay them on their side, one arm under their head, other arm crossed over and then one leg bent so that they can self-stay on their side and so that they don't roll onto their back is the big thing.

Jimmy: 14:05

Yeah, and obviously you can't see us. Not at all.

Megan: 14:08

I just demonstrated it really, really well, if I do say so myself.

Jimmy: 14:12

I thought she was doing the Macarena.

Jimmy: 14:19

I didn't know what was happening so um look up youtube, go to youtube, you see if your friend rescue recovery position, uh, it's great, no point. Now you wake up. You know hangover medicine. There's lots of hangover cures that people have you. Grease, sugar, sugar and water and aspirin are going to be your best things. All right, back in my drinking days, I used to, um, I would drink a lot of soda and I used to drink, uh, take a Coke and open it up and let it get flat, so in the morning I can drink the corn syrup and the caffeine and that would help. You know, um, but the carbonation wouldn't hurt my stomach and I could drink it faster, right? So that was one of the things. And then, whenever I had leftover, I would pour in the toilet to clean up the toilet, because it's a good toilet, cleaner, lots of water and just plant. Plant is the big.

Megan: 15:27

Thing.

Jimmy: 15:28

You know, have somebody plan to pick you up, have a plan to get home, have a plan to you know. If you stay home, you know, make sure you're maybe part of somebody else's plan to maybe pick them up. Right, they got for each other this holiday season be safe, be merry and have fun.

Megan: 15:49

We'll see you next time.