The holiday season should be joyous, but the increased social activity can also bring an increased risk of accidents — including fires. Many emergency care centers report significant increases in patients coming in with burn injuries between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Fires can result from cooking accidents, misuse of fireplaces, carelessness with candles and improper lighting and maintenance of Christmas trees. Extra vigilance is required to minimize the risk of these accidents and their resulting injuries during the holidays.

Many holiday season fires start in the kitchen. To cope with the demands of preparing the amount of food needed during a holiday party, cooks may rush things and get a little stressed, leading to accidents. Here are some kitchen safety tips:

• Wear a shirt with short or close-fitting sleeves to help prevent clothes from hanging over a hot stove and catching fire.
• Be extremely careful when dealing with deep frying or making candy. Hot oil and boiling sugar can cause even worse burns than boiling water.
• Don’t let kids run around the kitchen during meal preparation.
• If you’re deep-frying turkey, do it outdoors and don’t overfill the oil.
• Double check that you’re wearing protective mitts before touching hot pots or reaching into the oven.

Christmas trees are involved in several fires in Connecticut each year. They can cause major damage to homes and severe harm to their occupants. Follow these tips to reduce Christmas tree fire risk:

• Place the tree at least three feet away from heat registers, fireplaces, radiators and space heaters.
• Never use candles as tree decorations.
• If your tree has metallic leaves, don’t use electrical ornaments or lights.
• Inspect all lights before putting them on the tree, looking for cracked cords, loose bulbs and loose or exposed wires.
• Don’t overload electrical sockets by plugging in too many cords.
• If you are buying an artificial tree, make sure it has a “fire resistant” label.
• If you have a live tree, make sure to water it every day and don’t let it dry out. Dry trees can go up in flames in seconds.

Here are some other cautions to observe to keep you safe from fire this holiday season:

• Don’t throw wrapping paper or other scraps in the fireplace, since they can easily waft out onto your floor.
• Don’t leave candles unattended or have them lit near children.
• Make sure your smoke detectors work.

In the unfortunate event that you are injured or your home suffers fire damage during the holidays, you’ll want to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer. The fire could have been caused by someone else’s negligence or a defective product, in which case you could be entitled to monetary damages for disfigurement, scarring, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Gesmonde, Pietrosimone & Sgrignari, L.L.C. helps accidents victims throughout Connecticut with obtaining the compensation they deserve. Call 203-745-0942 or contact us online for a consultation. We have offices in Hamden and East Haven.