A Few Holiday Public Safety Tips: Candles, LEDs and Thieves

Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins and Ferndale Fire Chief Kevin Sullivan offered up a few tips in keeping safe on Monday night at the Ferndale City Council meeting.

It's the time of year where the lights come out, the candles are lit, the puddles freeze over and, sometimes, thieving happens.

Collins and Sullivan want you to be aware of all of it.

"I want to remind residents that in the holiday season. Be careful shopping, be careful downtown, not just on the ice and snow but of individuals as well," Collins said.

He said that although there haven't been many downtown incidents so far this year, typically, crimes such as theft or fraud increase during the holiday season.

So, be aware!

Sullivan wants residents to keep an eye on holiday lights and candles.

"The plate" -- or whatever you're resting the candle on -- "should be one and a half the size of the candles height," he said, if you're using candles.

For holiday lights, LEDs are the best for fire safety, he said. He said LEDs are a low voltage, low wattage light and don't put out the level of heat that traditional holiday lights do. He also cautioned from plugging in several strands of lights into on plug (think A Christmas Story).

Though it might be "indescribably beautiful," what those outlets, folks.