Home fires increase exponentially during the holidays. As the voice of public safety in your community, now is the prime opportunity for your local to spread the message about holiday safety.

This holiday safety toolkit includes op-eds for local media, tweets and posts to go along with infographics for social media and PSA videos on the safe use of turkey fryers and the importance of watering your Christmas tree.

Share the infographics and videos, along with a strong message (tag your friends in the media in any tweets to maximize your reach), on social media and send the op-eds and infographics to your local media as soon as possible. Be sure to follow-up with reporters and assignment editors to let them know you are available to discuss these important tips for ensuring a safe and happy holiday season.

Media outlets are eager for holiday-themed, ready-to-go content this time of year. Providing a steady stream of quality content will help establish a solid, positive relationship with the public and local media to ensure they continue to look to their fire fighters for safety advice all year long.

Contact [email protected] with any comments or questions about using IAFF toolkits.

Videos

Holiday Safety: Turkey Fryers

Holiday Safety: New Year's Eve

Download

Holiday Safety: Christmas Trees, Candles and Decorations

Download

Water Your Christmas Tree: Short Version (1 minute)

Water Your Christmas Tree: Long Version With Intro (2:17)

Posts/Tweets
for Social Media

Use these posts/tweets for social media, along with the hashtag “#IAFFsafetytips” to maximize your message. Make sure to tweak your message depending on the social media platform. Twitter is good place to tag your local reporters and news teams.

Thanksgiving:

  • Did you know that Thanksgiving Day cooking is the leading date for home cooking fires? Follow these tips to stay safe. #IAFFsafetytips
  • A cooking fire is three times more likely to happen on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the year! #IAFF​safetytips
  • Stay alert while cooking this Thanksgiving to avoid a home fire.​ #IAFF​safetytips
  • Make sure you pay attention to all cooking materials, and don’t leave anything flammable near a heat source! #IAFF​safetytips
  • Using a turkey fryer? Make sure you know how to do it safely! #IAFFsafetytips
  • Your local fire fighters advise you to cook with caution and pay attention in the kitchen this Thanksgiving! #IAFFsafetytips
  • Misusing equipment in the kitchen can very quickly lead to a home fire, so make sure you stay alert this Thanksgiving to make it a safe one! #IAFFsafetytips

Holiday/Christmas:

  • Christmas tree fires are some of the deadliest home fires that fire fighters and paramedics respond to. If you bring a live tree into your house, make sure to water it every day and do not leave the lights on when you are out of the house or asleep. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • Holidays can be hectic – cooking, people coming and going, decorations and wrapping – pets often go missing during this time. If you have a particularly slippery one, keep them upstairs or behind a gate if you have a holiday party. Keep a collar – with your updated information – on them at all times. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • As fire fighters and paramedics, we are trained to see the potential dangers behind the scenes as home fires increase exponentially during the holiday season. A combination of live trees, fires, lights and candles – plus alcohol – can quickly turn into a recipe for disaster. Be smart this season. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • The holidays are often a flurry of activities and a lot of it revolves around cooking. Cooking accidents and home fires due to cooking equipment are most likely to happen during this time. Keep your home and your loved ones safe this holiday season. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • Every year, candles cause more than 10,000 home fires. We recommend switching to LED candles to be safe. #IAFFSafetyTips

New Year’s Eve:

  • Be responsible this New Year’s Eve – make plans to get home safely before you go out. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • If you can, we recommend staying off the road this New Year’s Eve. Ring in the New Year safely! #IAFFSafetyTips
  • If you are hosting a party this New Year’s Eve, be a responsible host and make sure nobody gets behind the wheel of a car if they have been drinking. #IAFFSafetyTips
  • Avoid the temptation to start the New Year off with a “bang.” Fireworks can lead to house fires and injuries – and they never mix well with alcohol. #IAFFSafetyTips

Op-Eds for Local Media

Your local newspaper is a great resource to help brand your local as the community public safety advocate. These op-eds are designed for you to send to your newspaper’s editorial team to be included in their opinion section to highlight the importance of public safety, with your local president as the author. An op-ed is an especially useful tool for smaller papers, including neighborhood weekly services. Follow up to let them know you are available to answer any questions.

Thanksgiving Op-Ed

Christmas Op-Ed

New Year’s Eve Op-Ed

What is an op-ed? An op-ed stands for “opposite editorial” and is an opinionated article submitted to a newspaper for publication. They are written by members of the community and not journalists or reporters.