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Holiday Season Means Staying Keen To The Dangers Of Fire-Related Accidents

DETROIT (WWJ) - The last thing you want during the holidays is to lose your home to a fire.

Cheryl Bowker, a local Allstate Insurance agent, says fire-related claims are always up during the holiday season -- about 16 percent. That's higher than the national average of 12 percent. She says a big part of that is candles left unattended:

"I had a customer, this is going back a couple of years, they left and went to church and forgot a couple of candles and they came home and their home was on fire," said Bowker.

Bowker says try to use flameless candles for the home. She says they also see a lot of electrical fires, as well as fires that begin in the fireplace.

"People at this time of year are overloading their circuits. They are using extension cords maybe where they shouldn't be ... plugging too many things in."

She says make sure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are working, and keep an eye on anything that has to do with fire.

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