Deck the halls without the falls: Staying safe hanging holidy lights this season

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Deck the halls, but without the falls. Many people are getting festive this holiday season decorating their homes and trees with lights. However, according to a survey by DrFirst, one of the biggest mishap they're seeing is holiday falls.

"Over 10% of the patient population admitted to actually having pretty significant falls, injuries related to the holiday season, and you can imagine where this comes from: hanging the lights from the attic, you now getting the tree down," said DrFirst First Chief Medical Officer Dr. Colin Banas.

APS says they receive calls around this time of year about people falling off the roof or a tree trying to hang lights. To stay safe, APS encourages families to check your wires and always have a buddy when hanging Christmas lights up to avoid injuries.

"Use a ladder, have a spotter with you, someone to hold the ladder," said APS Southwest Division manager Danny Ortega. "I would really have people inspect your light strings. As they age, they tend to wear, and there could be bare wires out there that can cause a spark or maybe something to happen."

They say using LED lights can also save energy and electricity costs.

"Also maybe we can set a timer to our lights you know that way we conserve energy. Maybe midnight's a good time to turn your lights off," said Ortega.

APS also says to be careful plugging in your lights and not to put too many lights on the string to avoid blowing a fuse or causing electrical shortages.